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How to Make Jewelry 

SECOND EDITION 

By GEORGE S. OVERTON 



PRACTICAL INSTRUC- 
TIONS FROM A PRAC- 
TICAL MANUFACTUR- 
ING JEWELER 



With Eight Chapters on 

How to Make Plated Jewelry 

By ALVAN H. WHITING 



Being Articles Reprinted from 
The Manufacturing Jeweler" 



Providence, R. I. 

WALTER B. FROST £& COMPANY 

42 Weybosset Street 

1920 



/t" 



I t/\ti^ 






Copyright 

by Walter B. Frost 

1914 

Copyright Second Edition 
1920 






JUL 23 ]m 



©CI.A5718.30 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



How to Make Jewelry. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Designing 1 

II. Hints on Melting 6 

III. The Alloying of Gold 10 

IV. Formulas for Alloys and Solders 16 

V. Getting out Plating Stock 21 

VI. Wire Drawing and Working 26 

VII. Making of Solders 29 

VIII. Solder and the Quality Stamp 33 

IX. Soldering 37 

X. Tips on Soldering and Stone Setting. . 41 

XI. Repairing Stone Set Work 45 

XII. Gilding with Electric Current 49 

XIII. Red Gilding 55 

XIV. Resists for Two-Color Work 59 

XV. Acid Coloring 62 

XVI. Precautions in the Coloring Room. ... 67 

XVII. Silver and Its Alloys for Jewelry Work 71 

XVIII. Solutions for Silver Plating 76 

XIX. Black and Gray Finishes on Silver. ... 80 

XX. Gun Metal Finish 85 

XXI. Silver as a Base for Black Enamel. ... 88 

XXII. Enameling 93 

XXIII. Enamehng (Continued) 97 

XXIV. Melting Platinum 101 

XXV. Working in Platinum 105 

XXVI. . Working in Platinum (Continued), (il- 

lustrated) Ill 

XXVII. Recovery of Gold and Silver from 

Scrap •. 116 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Vll 



How TO Make Jewelry — Continued. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXVIII. Refining Polishing Sweeps 122 

XXIX. Filtration of Washings (illustrated) ... 125 

XXX. Testing for Pure Gold 128 

XXXI. Keeping Track of Gold 131 

XXXII. Figuring Shop Cost 134 

XXXIII. Reducing Labor Costs 138 

XXXIV. Time and Labor Savers 141 

XXXV. Some Shop Problems 144 

XXXVI. The Buying of Stones 147 

XXXVII. Making Pearl Jewelry (illustrated).. . . 150 

XXXVI I I. Drilling Pearls for Stringing (illus- 

trated) 156 

XXXIX. Ring Making (illustrated) 161 

XL. Sizing and Soldering of Rings (illus- 
trated) 166 

XLI. Chain Making (illustrated) 169 

XLII. Making Flower Work (illustrated) .... 173 

XLIIL Making a Line of Pins 178 

XLIV. Horseshoe Jewelry, (illustrated) 183 

XLV. The Maltese Cross in Emblems (illus- 
trated) 188 

XLVI . Some Attractive Novelties (illustrated ) 1 92 

XLVII. Making Eyeglass Frames (illustrated) 196 

XLVIII. Hints on Soldering 201 

XLIX. Polishing and Burnishing 205 

L. Casting in Cuttlefish and in Sand 209 

LI. Practical Hints for Working Jewelers 213 

LI I. Practical Hints (Continued) 217 

LIII. Practical Hints (Concluded) 222 

LIV. Figuring Shop Cost — Appendix 228 



viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART TWO. 



Making Plated Jewelry. 

CHAPTEK PAGE 

I. Location of the Building 231 

II. Tool Making for Plated Jewelry 236 

III. Stamping and Press Work 241 

IV. The Bench Lathe 248 

V. Pattern Making and Bench Work. ... 252 

VI. Use of Automatic Machinery 257 

VII. Fitting up a Polishing Room 260 

VIII. Chain Mesh and Screw Machines 263 



PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 



IN publishing a weekly trade paper, a host of material 
comes to the editor's desk, and his success as the 
director of the publication lies chiefly in winnowing the 
wheat from the chaff. The great task of an editor of a 
jewelry trade paper is to secure accurate technical arti- 
cles which do not show on their face the traces of being 
copied from old and perhaps obsolete works. In the 
course of a long apprenticeship at the editor's desk in 
the office of The Manufacturing Jeweler, I have 
learned that the men who have the technical knowledge 
either will not impart it to the world, or else they lack 
the proper powers of expression. This is the general 
rule, but once in a while there is an exception. The 
present volume is a case in point. 

When the first few of these articles were offered to 
The Manufacturing Jeweler for weekly publication, 
I did not realize their true value, and did not expect 
the series to be prolonged. Gradually, however, I saw 
that a master of jewelry technique was divulging inform- 
mation of incalculable value, both to the beginner and 
to the experienced jeweler. My own views were soon 
reinforced by emphatic protests against continuing the 
articles from one of the largest manufacturers of gold 
jewelry, on the plea that Mr. Overton was giving away 
trade secrets. Threats of legal action were also made. 

Mr. Overton's experience has been chiefly as foreman 
and superintendent of gold shops, and therefore this 
book deals largely with the making of jewelry from the 
precious metals. As the book developed, however, sup- 



X PREFACE. 

plementary instructions relative to making work in 
rolled plate were inserted. Real jewelry is, of course, 
made of the precious metals, and if one is fully competent 
to make such jewelry, the knowledge of how to make 
goods in brass or rolled plate can be acquired very easily. 

In preparing Mr. Overton's articles for publication in 
book form, they have been carefully edited, rearranged 
in suitable order, and one entirely new chapter added. 
An elaborate cross index has been made and inserted in 
the closing pages of the book. 

We have had many requests for the articles in per- 
manent form, and believe that this book will soon come 
to be regarded as a standard. There is no other work, 
either in England or America, which deals with the sub- 
ject of jev^^elry-making in so complete, detailed and in- 
forming a manner. 

WALTER B. FROST. 
Providence, R. I., 1914. 



PUBLISHERS' PREFACE TO SECOND 
EDITION. 



THE regular and continuous demand for the first 
edition of Mr. Overton's book — a demand from 
all lands and all quarters of this country, exhausted 
the supply, which was originally much larger than 
we had good reason to believe would be required. 

As the book was written more particularly for the 
worker in gold and platinum, it did not fully meet the 
needs of the commercial manufacturer, in large quanti- 
ties, of plated or brass jewelry. Realizing that a second 
edition would be demanded, we looked about to find a 
man of wide experience who thoroughly knew how to 
establish and run a shop for making plated jewelry, 
and furthermore was able and willing to place that 
knowledge before his fellow-men. 

We were fortunate in securing Mr. Alvan H. Whiting, 
an experienced manager of jewelry shops, who has con- 
tributed eight chapters on "How to Make Plated 
Jewelry," which covers the ground in a remarkably 
clear and comprehensive manner, and is written in a 
sprightly and readable style. These chapters are 
grouped under Part H towards the end of the volume. 

The addition of this important information for the 
young or inexperienced manufacturer well supplements 
Mr. Overton's invaluable work, which has become a 
standard in its class, and is used as a text book by many 
schools and by the vocational department of the United 
States Government. 

WALTER B. FROST. 
Providence, R. I., 1920. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO SECOND 
EDITION. 



IN reviewing the pages of "How to Make Jewelry," 
for a second edition the author is impressed with 
the fact that during the past ten years some rapid 
strides have been made in jewelry-making. By reason 
of the demand for platinum by the Government during 
the war, — also the enormous increase in its cost, the 
jewelers have experimented with combinations of other 
metals as substitutes. Hence, "White Gold" and 
"Green Gold" in various qualities have been put on the 
market with considerable success. These new alloys, 
with a number of new shop "kinks," are given in this 
Second Edition. 

The author wishes to tender his most sincere apprecia- 
tion to The Manufacturing Jeweler, which has, more 
or less precariously, undertaken to give in book form his 
articles, originally contributed weekly, for the benefit 
of the young, ambitious jeweler, and also to thank 
those who have so kindly expressed their approval. 

GEORGE S. OVERTON. 

Newark, N. J., July 1920. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 

PART I. 



CHAPTER I. 



DESIGNING. 
New Designs Needed Every Day — A Large Demand for Com- 
petent Designers — Material Necessary for Work — How 
to Make Tracings — Colors that Go with Different 
Stones — How to Get Ideas for New Designs. 

THE manufacture of jewelry has now reached a 
stage where new and original ideas in novelties 
are being constantly demanded and expected. 
New adaptations of conventional designs, ilowers, horse- 
shoes, in combination with some fancy ornament, etc., 
will, if strikingly original, always find a market. As a 
consequence there is a large field for designers, and within 
the last fifteen years a host of young men and women, 
learning of the large salaries paid to some designers, have 
acquired a little "taste" and the rudiments of drawing, 
and, armed with a few samples of their "art," are boldly 
seeking positions as designers of jewelry, usually expect- 
ing unreasonable salaries. And like the graduate from 
a three months' course at the business college — "there is 
nothing to it." 

The best designers, in nearly every instance, are those 
recruited from the ranks, who have served their time as 
jewelers, and who have a natural bent for sketching. 
The apprenticeship at the bench has taught them the 
practical side, at the same time familiarizing them with 
detail, knowledge of construction, etc., so they may later 
be in a position to explain, or to superintend, the carry- 
ing out of their own ideas. The writer has been in con- 
tact with, and has employed, designers who could draw 
and paint beautifully, and who could successfully carry 
out ideas furnished them. On the other hand, commis- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



sion them to make an original design, limited to so many- 
stones, etc., and to be a certain size, and they were lost, 
having no practical knowledge of thickness, setting or 
construction. It is safe to assume that these same young 
people would not seek jobs as designers of elevators, dy- 
namos, or battleships, and yet they are as well fitted for 
these vocations. An attractive design can be sometimes 
altered and made practical by the workman; this, how- 
ever, is a poor haphazard business, as you never know 
just what you are going to get. In this connection I am 
reminded of a story told by an old-time but well-known 
manufacturer of fine jewelry. The customer was de- 
scribing to the salesman in the store a brooch she had in 
mind and wished to have made. Glancing into the show- 
case she pointed to a brooch and said, "Soniething like 
that," and mentioned a few changes. Later, the whole- 
sale man called, and the salesman gave him the order, 
describing what the customer wanted, as he remembered 
it. The wholesale man returned to the office, handed 
along the order to the office order man, who sent it to the 
factory superintendent; he selected a workman, and giv- 
ing him the instructions with his interpretation of same, 
the pin in the natural course of events was finished and 
sent to the store. When the lady was shown the pin she 
exclaimed, "I ordered a brooch, not a jew's-harp!" 

Have a sketch exactly as you want the finished article 
to be furnished the workman, and he will have no excuse 
to offer. 

Make practical designs. A brooch should be drawn 
with plenty of strength and enough surface to hide the 
joint and catch. A pendant can be much more delicately 
drawn. Always make the sketch so that no extra scroll ' 
has to be "plastered" on afterwards. 

There are very pretty delicate little effects in jewelry 
in the stores, lots of them impractical. The sale of such 
is restricted, while the substantial, common-sense article 
sells over and over again. 

There are numbers of boys and men working in jew- 
elry factories who very likely have a latent ability for 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



designing, and are hesitating because they don't know- 
just how to go at it. To these the writer gives here a 
few tips, gathered during some twenty-five years of ex- 
perience in large jewelry factories, several of them as 
designer and superintendent. 

Get a cheap pad and pencil and a catalogue of jewelry 
designs; start copying them. Always draw a line up and 
a tine across at right angles ; this gets a center and helps 
in the correct spacing, etc. Don't use the rubber too 
much ; start fresh drawing ; ideas will suggest themselves 
as you go along. Take a sunburst, see if you cannot make 
the scrolls run a little different, or try to draw a little or- 
namentation in a pearl crescent; attend drawing school; 
learn to model (although not absolutely necessary) ; try 
to be original, and always practical. As you improve, get 
different hardnesses of pencils. Hardtmuth pencils up to 
6 H. are excellent; also Fabers; use a red (ruby) rub- 
ber, kept clean; the design should always be clean, not 
smudgy. When you get a pin or something drawn that 
looks pretty good on your pad, go over it with a pen and 
ink; let it dry, and rub all pencil marks off, leaving the 
ink tracing standing out clean. Now get some tracing 
paper at the stationer's, about a yard for twenty-five 
cents, enough to last a year; cut into convenient sizes and 
keep in an old book ; take a piece and after lining up and 
across, carefully trace your design; if quite tedious, the 
tracing paper is fastened to pad with a little drop of mu- 
cilage at each corner. Watch for any imperfections in 
spacing or where a scroll could be more rounded, etc. 
Now remove and place on a card your tracing, with the 
lead pencil side on the card, and carefully go over the re- 
verse side with a harder pencil, and upon removing, the 
design is found transferred on the card; examine care- 
fully to see that drawing is correct before putting on 
finishing touches, shading, etc., and coloring. 

Get a water color box for about one dollar, with a half- 
dozen red sable brushes, fine and pointed. We will sup- 
pose the pin is gold, rose finished. First, go over the 
design with a pale wash of gamboge; let it dry, then 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



shade, using yellow ochre, always remembering that the 
most prominent scrolls are the most strongly shaded. 
This throws them up, making them stand out from the 
background. A little burnt sienna is painted in recesses 
to give the rose finish effect. Do not be discouraged if 
you get too much color on. Make another tracing on 
another card. Stick at it and you will succeed. The 
very highest points of the scrolls are brought out by a 
touch of Chinese white, bought in tubes, and rubbed up 
with a little water. After drying, lightly moisten with 
a little pale chrome yellow. In colors for stones the 
Chinese white is background for the diamond or pearl, 
shading and lining with sepia mixed with the white ; co- 
balt, shaded and lined with indigo blue for sapphires; 
carmine red mixed with cobalt is an excellent amethyst 
color; emerald green, shaded with sap green for green 
stones, and the yellow colors before mentioned for the 
topaz, etc. All of these stones are made to "stand" out 
better by the judicious use of the lead pencil to sharpen 
up the point of division between the light and shade and 
also to mark off facets. A few specks of the Chinese 
white is applied on the side of stone not shaded. Bear 
in mind that all colors are first applied as a faint wash, 
the shading and faceting applied after to get best results. 

Go to the library of your town, look over books of ar- 
chitecture and decorative designs. Some beautiful de- 
signs are gotten from looking over patterns in wall pa- 
per. Note the carving of the masonry on public build- 
ings. Get books and the latest plates of designs of jew- 
elry from abroad. H. C. Perleberg, jewelry designs, Jer- 
sey City, makes a business of getting original plates, pho- 
tographing them and selling copies to the trade. 

Bruno Hessling, 64 East 12th street, New York, deals 
in books of designs covering the prehistoric period. 
Egyptian, Indian, Roman, Chinese, and many others, 
down to the modern ornament of the renaissance, rococo, 
the colonial style of the United States, etc. Some jew- 
elry houses originate, others are content to be trailers. 
Good ideas are also gotten by examining fine pieces of 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



jewelry in the first-class stores. Where convenient, the 
designer should make the trip to New York occasionally, 
and inspect the goods on display at the downtown stores 
and along Fifth avenue. This is not done with the idea 
of copying, but to furnish ideas and to keep one up to 
date. 

Some of the larger jewelry manufacturing firms em- 
ploy two and even three designers; one of them is usually 
kept pretty busy on painted sketches of regular goods. 
These are often sent in place of the real articles on a 
"memo" or consignment order, thereby keeping stock in- 
tact and ready for quick delivery on a bona fide order. 

A retail salesman can make himself more valuable by 
being able to make a sketch, carrying out customers' 
ideas; in fact, some of the larger stores throughout the 
country employ regular designers. For all designs for 
painting a pearl gray colored card is most suitable. 
White cards may be used . for pencil sketches or gold 
work. These cards can be purchased cut to any size 
from any paper house. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER II. 



HINTS ON MELTING. 

How to Obtain Glean, Smooth Ingots — Grucibles Must be 
Warmed — Placing the Ingredients — Use of Sal Am- 
moniac and Gharcoal — Importance of Thorough Mix- 
ing — Gasting the Ingot — Location of Melting Room — 
A "Kink" in Wire Goiling — Silver Melting. 

IT is just as easy to get a good, clean, smooth ingot of 
gold or silver as it is a bar that is full of holes, 
grooves or blisters. The poor "melts" are gotten by 
indifferent or careless workmen, who figure that the sub- 
sequent rolling will smooth out everything. As a matter 
of fact, where the bar is uneven the thinner spots simply 
stretch, and after rolling to a certain thickness, your plate 
is full of seams, or cracks and holes, necessitating a 
cutting out of these portions for remelting. This, of 
course, is double work and a useless waste of crucibles 
and gas, to say nothing of the time. Then again the 
melter may not have a technical knowledge of the prin- 
ciples of melting and is simply following some formula 
furnished him, or that he has acquired, or he has drifted 
into the melting room by force of circumstances. To 
those manufacturers and melters who have met with va- 
rying results, the writer proposes to give some little 
"kinks." 

All crucibles, whether sand or black lead, should be 
first warmed before putting in the metal for melting. 
The alloy should be put in first, then the copper, then sil- 
ver, and lastly the gold. The reasons for this are, first, 
that the alloy and the copper melt first, and secondly, 
they are protected by the silver and gold from contact 
with the gases of the furnace, thus greatly eliminating 
oxides from being formed. Sal ammoniac and pow- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



dered charcoal are the agents used to neutralize the gases 
that form in the crucible, the charcoal acting as a coat- 
ing cover and the sal ammoniac to purify the alloy . 
while in a molten state. The official melter of the 
United States assay office at New York uses powdered 
sal ammoniac and a very fine powder of charcoal which 
he obtains from the collections on the beams of his melt- 
ing room. The powdered sal ammoniac is probably 
bought fresh often, hence is as good as the lump form. 
For the average jeweler the lump is better, as the strength 
remains in longer, a little piece being broken off and pul- 
verized as needed. For charcoal the powdered willow, 
purchased from leading drug stores, is as good as any. 
Berge, of New York (the crucible manufacturer), 
handles a charcoal powder which is very good, but under 
a good stiff flame blows out of the furnace to a great 
extent and is wasted. It is also a trifle more expensive 
than the willow charcoal. 

The sal ammoniac should be mixed with the charcoal 
in about equal proportions and enough should be put on 
top of the gold to cover well before placing in the fur- 
nace. Have flame just show through the cover, starting 
rather scant and increasing the force just as metal is 
melting. Add a little more of the sal ammoniac and 
charcoal. When the gold begins to sink to the bottom of 
the crucible, showing that the other metals are melted, it 
should be gently pressed down with an iron rod. Some- 
times the gold, especially if it is in plate form, will stick 
for some time as a sort of roof before finally dropping 
of its own accord into the molten mass in the crucible. 
As soon as it is melted, which is ascertained by insert- 
ing an iron rod or poker, the mass is well stirred. 

If a crucible cover, in addition to the furnace cover, is 
not used, it is well to add a little more of the sal am- 
moniac and charcoal, stirring just before pouring. 

Right here the writer wishes to emphasize the neces- 
sity of thoroughly mixing the melts. The old-time melt- 
ers swear by the rolling down of the stock and cutting 
up of same and remelting to get a perfect alloy. This 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



method undoubtedly helps, but is slow, involving as it 
does a double melting. Stir the liquid mass well, two or 
three times, or even more, keeping it well covered with 
charcoal. First stir to the right, then rapidly to the left, 
and then pour rapidly into your plate or wire ingot. In 
case of i8-karat gold do not pour too hot; let the cruci- 
ble commence to show a dull, almost blackish-red be- 
fore pouring. The 14-karat alloys and lower should be 
poured as quickly as possible to prevent the base metals 
from oxidizing by contact with the air. Just before pour- 
ing some melters blow in a pinch of saltpetre, placed in 
the end of a long brass tube. This clears up the surface 
of the molten metal and perhaps helps a little in getting 
a cleaner ingot. 

Within the last four or five years, and since the first 
edition was printed, there have come into use a number of 
green gold alloys in 14-karat and lo-karat, and as the 
principal alloy used is silver, the melt must be held as in 
pouring the i8-karat. 

The ingot should be well warmed and just moistened 
with oil to prevent the gold from sticking. Avoid an ex- 
cess of oil, as it will cause holes or fissures in your bar. 
In getting bars for wire the writer recommends the open 
wire ingot. The bar should be well hammered, with an- 
nealings frequently to prevent cracks. In i8-karat do 
not anneal until you have given the gold two or three 
very heavy drafts in rolls to close the grain. This ap- 
plies also to all other soft alloys, whether wire or plate. 
In melting spring gold or hard alloys for snaps, pin 
tongues, etc., where the base metals added are of nearly 
the same weight, the ingot bar or plate must first be an- 
nealed and allowed to cool off slowly before rolling. Do 
not hammer any hard alloys, but in rolling force the 
drafts, do not "baby" the stock. This starts a good 
grain in the metal. 

The farther away or the better protected the melting 
room is from drafts or windows, the better will be the 
general results. The adding of saltpetre is very hard on 
the crucibles and is hardly worth while in the long run. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



An old pair of canvas gloves will be found handy in fa- 
cilitating the handling of the furnace cover, ingots, etc. 

In rolling wire it may be interesting to the beginner to 
know that a close, even coil is obtained for anneahng, 
or for convenience in putting in gold box, by pulling the 
end of wire back over the top roll. When the wire has 
all passed through, an even coil of about the diameter of 
the roll is the result. It is surprising that a number of 
melters to-day who have been in the business for years 
have not gotten on to this little "stunt" and are still bend- 
ing the long strip into a coil by hand, getting an uneven 
coil and risking burning or melting the projecting strands 
in the subsequent annealing. 

Silver is melted and poured pretty much like i8-karat 
gold. The points to remember are, that it should not be 
poured any hotter than is necessary and that it should 
be well stirred with an iron poker. Borax or boracic 
acid crystals are used in place of sal ammoniac; keep 
extra well covered with charcoal, add a little more borax 
as soon as silver is melted. Poke or shove the borax 
under the charcoal with a long, narrow pair of tongs. 
The ingot should be just hot enough to permit of the 
finger touching it for a moment. In annealing after 
rolling, do not get too bright a red heat, as this will 
cause air blisters, condemning many a good bar that un- 
til then had been all right. 



10 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE ALLOYING OF GOLD. 

Gold above 18-Karat Used Only for Special Order Work — 
Variegated Gold Work — Alloys for Yellow, Green and 
Red Gold— High Grade Stock for Enamel Work— Hard 
and Soft Alloys — Standard lO-Karat Formula — Copper 
Shot vs. Copper Wire. 

GOLD of a quality better than i8-karat is seldom 
used in the manufacture of jewelry, and then 
only on special order work. The so-called varie- 
gated gold work, wherein is seen, say, a fancy bracelet, 
ornamented with green, yellow, red or blue (platinum) 
trimming, is made by cutting out the shapes and sweat- 
ing them on to a plate of gold. 

These little ornaments may be cut out in the foot press 
or shears, as desired, and are usually cut out of 20 stock, 
dial screw gauge, and soldered on a back of 40 stock. 
After soldering, of course using best grade of solder for 
this work, the plate is put in the drop press and a sharp 
blow flattens and gives a smooth, blended effect. The 
piece of stock is now ready to be shaped into any pattern 
desired. In leaf or flower work, where the petals or 
leaves are of one color gold, the edges only showing varie- 
gation, the stock is made by taking a plate of gold 600 
points thick for the backing, and soldering on the green, 
yellow and red in strips 250 points thick, then rolling 
down to the desired thickness, 60 points being customary 
for leaf and small work. In order to break the straight 
line effect where one color is joined to the other, after 
roUing, little odd shapes or zigzag pellets of green, red 
or yellow gold are applied on the seam and soldered, a 
sharp blow under the drop hammer blending them in 
fluvsh. Fine wires of platinum, used in "veining" leaves, 
are also applied in this way. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. ii 



Years ago blue gold, an alloy of i8 parts gold 
and 6 of iron, was used in place of the platinum. 
This is, however, an extremely difficult alloy to avoid 
getting brittle and is best effected by first dipping fine 
iron wire in sulphuric acid and water to take ofif the black 
oxide or scale, or by drawing it through emery paper 
until it is bright. The gold is first melted under a good 
layer of charcoal powder, the iron wire carefully added 
a little at a time and poked well under the charcoal. 
The bar must be annealed and carefully hammered after 
pouring and before putting through the rolls. 

Some houses use fine or 24-karat for yellow gold. A 
22-karat made of 22 pennyweights fine gold, i}i penny- 
weights silver, and )4 pennyweight copper, shows up as 
well and is of course not quite so expensive. Green gold 
is made of various proportions of gold and silver, 19 
pennyweights of gold to 5 of silver giving a very deep, 
rich green. For most purposes, however, an alloy of 17 
pennyweights of fine gold to 7 pennyweights of silver is 
used. The red gold lasting the longest in lustre and pre- 
senting the best finish is made of 22 parts gold to 2 of best 
shot copper, but all proportions are used and an alloy of 
14 parts gold to 10 of copper is frequently employed. 
The writer does not advise using less than i8-karat red 
gold or 18 parts gold to 6 of copper, as under some con- 
ditions the alloyed metal will turn black. 

Houses making 14-karat jewelry use different quahties 
of stock for the backing. Some figure that a 12-karat 
back will average up the 22-karat, i8-karat, or 17-karat 
front, as the case may be, so that if goods were assayed 
the test would show 14-karat as per stamp. Others, to 
be on the safe side, use a plump 14-karat backing. Of 
course, there is the solder (usually about 12-karat) 
which must be reckoned with. However, as the vari- 
colored front is seldom or never less than 17-karat for 
the green and 22-karat for the yellow, a backing of I2>^- 
karats will assay 14-karat in most cases. A large manu- 
facturer of lo-karat goods with green gold (i8-karat) 



12 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 



front uses a back stock of 8-karat and finds his scrap to 
stand the lo-karat test. 

An 1 8-karat alloy much used to-day in fine diamond 
work, is made of i8 parts gold, 4 parts silver and 2 of 
copper. This is a very rich yellow. To get a red, sim- 
ply reverse the figures of the silver and copper. In the 
making of enamel work, certain jewelers, in order to re- 
duce the danger of chipping or breaking of the enamel, 
have used high alloys of gold, in some instances even fine 
or pure gold, figuring that they are in pocket by eliminat- 
ing the frequent cost of re-enameling. This, in the case 
of painted work or finely veined and shaded flower work, 
where probably the labor is mostly in the enameling and 
''painting, is a practical move and is thoroughly com- 
mended. On the other hand, there is a tendency some- 
times on the part of the manufacturer to make every- 
thing of the higher alloy for enamel goods, and here is 
where he is going to the bad. One concern, employing 
indifferent help, went behind considerably by indiscrim- 
inately using a 15-karat alloy for their enamel goods and 
stamping it 14-karat. The fact that it was figured as 
15-karat simply caused the customer to wonder at the 
cost of the goods and to look elsewhere when buying. 

An alloy of 14-karat for enameling, of 14 parts gold, 
7 of silver and 3 of copper, is recommended for all plain 
work, and is used for painted flower work in some shops 
as well. For shell or die work, or for work requiring 
bending or shaping, a 14-karat polished alloy is made of 
14 parts gold, 3 parts silver, 2 of copper and 5 of pale 
Guinea gold. This alloy needs melting only once, and 
the scrap should be added to a fresh alloy for remelting. 

A tough alloy, excellent for knife edge, screw wire, or 
open work, is 14 parts gold, 4 of silver, and 6 of copper. 
This should be melted twice to thoroughly mix. A. very 
hard 14-karat alloy, suitable for bracelet snaps, pin 
tongue stenis or stiffening pieces, is, fine gold, 14 parts; 
silver, 4.}4 parts; copper and pale Guinea alloy, 2^4 parts 
each; total, 24. Another used to-day is, 14 parts gold, 
with 5 parts each of silver and copper. A fine 14-karat 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



green gold is made of fine gold 14 parts, silver 8^ parts 
and copper i^ parts or pennyweights, total, 24. There 
are also formulas furnished by refiners who sell a special 
green gold alloy. 

There are a number of white gold alloys on the market 
ranging from 20-karat down. In the better karat qual- 
ities palladium was used, but this made an expensive 
alloy, so that after some experimenting an i8-karat 
white gold was made out of 18 parts fine gold, 4 parts 
pure nickel and 2 parts fine iron wire. This is a rich blue- 
white alloy closely resembling platinum, but is a little 
hard. Baker & Co., of Newark, N. J., are now supply- 
ing a white alloy which works up very well for all karat 
qualities and is ductile. The basis of all white gold 
alloys is simply a fine grade of german silver with a high 
percentage of nickel. In melting white gold alloys the 
gold is put in last and covered with boracic acid crystals. 
More heat must be applied than in ordinary gold alloys. 
When melted, stir well with carbon stick and pour at 
once, roll as soon as cooled to about two-thirds of the 
thickness, then anneal, and proceed as in regular alloys. 
The gold may be plunged while warm (not red hot) in 
sulphuric acid pickle to remove the black. 

In using alloys furnished by the refiners and supply 
houses no other metal is used, so that 14-karat white 
gold is simply 14 pennyweights fine gold to 10 penny- 
weights white gold alloy; lO-karat white gold, 10 parts 
fine gold and 14 parts white gold alloy, etc. 

To get a fine white appearance after a piece of white 
gold jewelry is made up it must be stripped in the follow- 
ing solution before polishing: 

Cyanide copper, i}4 ounces by weight; ammonia, 
26%, 4 ounces; carbonate soda, 4 ounces; cyanide po- 
tassium, 6 ounces; water, i gallon. 

Solution may be cold or slightly warm and the cathode 
a sheet of soft copper, which should, to get best results, 
entirely surround the jar, although an ordinary carbon 
will do for small lots. Hang the work, after steel-brush- 
ing in bran water, on the positive wire and keep moving. 



14 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

In a few moments the work will strip bright as silver and 
may be polished in the usual way. This "strip" is also 
excellent for all gold alloys. 

A point to remember in the making of alloys is that 
the nearer the proportions the alloys approach one 
another the harder will be the alloy, so that if an equal 
amount of silver and copper be found to be too hard the 
alloy may be made softer by using less copper, adding 
the amount taken off to the silver. 

In the matter of alloys, there are a number on the 
market: thus we read of red gold alloy, pale yellow, pale 
gold, Guinea gold and others. The writer has found 
these very useful where gold is first alloyed, melting only 
once. But where there is a quantity of scrap to be re- 
melted (and it is not desired to add fresh gold), the re- 
sultant melts, especially if in wire form, are hard and 
brittle and a fierce thing to get up against. This is un- 
doubtedly due to the zinc or other volatile metals used 
in the making of these alloys, the repeated melting burn- 
ing them out. 

A very good lo-karat alloy that works well for nearly 
all purposes and stands remelting by reason of the small 
quantity of alloy used, is, fine gold, lo parts; silver^ 3 
parts; copper, 7 parts, and pale gold alloy, 4 parts. A 
very soft alloy for dies and stamping consists of, fine 
gold, 10 parts; silver, 2 parts; copper, 3 parts, and alloy, 
9 parts. A lo-karat green gold alloy is, fine gold, 10 
pennyweights ; silver, 1 1 pennyweights ; copper, 3 penny- 
weights. As in the case of the 14-karat green gold an 
alloy is also sold by refiners especially made for green 
gold. Another lo-karat pale gold, used for half -pearl 
work and for enameling, is, fine gold, 10 parts; silver, 6 
parts; copper, 2 parts, and alloy, 6 parts. This last has 
a tendency to get hard and cracky during remelting, and 
should always be mixed with a new melt. 

Some jewelers prefer to use the purified shot copper 
for everything in which they use copper. Others use it 
in wire form, and there are still other manufacturers who 
insist that the shot is best for polished gold work, while 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 15 



the wire is the better for enamel work and for the mak- 
ing of solders.* The writer uses the wire for all alloys, 
finding that the solder flows better. Certainly the form 
of copper that most readily blends with the gold, 
either for polished or enamel work, should be used. The 
only argument in favor of using shot copper is that it is 
not (within a fine point or two) quite so apt to melt when 
being soldered. 



*At this present moment it is impossible to get the copper wire (pure lake 
copper) , so we melt the shot copper and roll it into wire, as we find that for certain 
fine wires it has a better grain. 



1 6 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER IV. 



FORMULAS FOR ALLOYS AND SOLDERS. 
Formulas for Gold of Differing Fineness and Color and for 
Different Uses — Alloys for Enamel Work — A System of 
Compounding Alloys for Special Work — Reliable Solder 
Alloys of Different Qualities — Use Highest Grade for 
Work to be Enameled. 

FINE gold is, as we know, 24-karats, therefore, all 
alloys are fractions, i8-karat being 18-24, 14- 
karat, 14-24, and so on. In 24 pennyweights of 
i8-karat gold we have 18 pennyweights of pure gold and 
6 pennyweights of alloy. In 14-karat, 14 pennyweights 
of fine gold, and 10 pennyweights of alloy. 

In 236 pennyweights of i8-karat gold we know that 
18-24 or ^ of the amount- is fine gold, viz., 236 x ^ equals 
177 pennyweights of fine gold. 

The foregoing examples will be better understood in 
the talk on refining and subsequent recovery of the fine 
gold, which will be taken up in other chapters. The 
whole principle in the making of the different karats 
of gold is to simply take first the number of parts of 
fine gold indicating the karat quality, and adding al- 
loys of silver, copper, etc., to make up 24; as in 14-karat 
we take 14 parts fine gold and 10 parts alloy. 

While some manufacturers whom the writer has talked 
with claim that they can mix their alloys better by using 
the 100 parts fine gold, adding the proper proportions of 
alloy to make the different karats fineness, yet he (the 
writer) finds in the long run the previous system works 
out the best. 

Below are given alloys for different karat gold in use 
to-day in variegated gold goods, in Roman gold, and pale 
gold (14-karat) for enameling and paving with half- 
pearls, and also in i8-ka'rat pale gold. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 17 



22-karat yellow gold alloy. Fine gold, 22 parts, or 22 
pennyweights; fine silver, i^ parts, or i pennyweight, 
18 grains; fine copper, }i part, 6 grains; total, 24 parts 
or 24 pennyweights. 

22-karat red gold. Fine gold, 22 pennyweights, cop- 
per, 2 pennyweights. 

i8-karat pale gold alloy as used in Paris and adopted 
by some of the manufacturers in the United States. 
This takes a very rich, delicate polish and is well adapted 
for enameling in fine, transparent enamels. Fine gold, 
18 parts; fine silver, 4 parts; fine copper, 2 parts. 

i8-karat red gold, used in variegated gold jewelry. 
Fine gold, 18 parts; fine copper, 6 parts. 

i8-karat polished gold. Fine gold, 18 parts; fine sil- 
ver, 2 parts; fine copper, 4 parts. 

17-karat green gold. Fine gold, 17 parts; fine silver, 
7 parts. 

14-karat pale gold for enameling and for pearl set 
(paved) jewelry. Fine gold, 14 parts; fine silver, 7 
parts; fine copper, 3 parts. 

14-karat polished gold, also for gilding, rose finish, 
green finish, etc. Fine gold, 14 parts; fine silver, 3 
parts; fine copper, 2 parts; pale Guinea alloy, 5 parts. 

14-karat hard wire suitable for scarf pin stems, brace- 
let snaps, etc. Fine gold, 14 parts, or 14 pennyweights; 
fine silver, 4>^ parts, or 4 pennyweights, 12 grains; fine 
copper, 2J4 parts, or 2 pennyweights, 18 grains; Guinea 
alloy, 2}i parts, or 2 pennyweights, 18 grains. 

lo-karat for polished or Roman gold. Fine gold, 10 
parts; fine silver, 3 parts; fine copper, 7 parts; Guinea 
alloy, 4 parts. 

lo-karat for pearl pave or close set. Fine gold, 10 
parts; fine silver, 6 parts; fine copper, 2 parts; Guinea 
alloy, 6 parts. 

The 17-karat green gold alloy given is used to-day by 
a manufacturer of variegated color gold jewelry, never- 
theless, by reason of the amount of silver it contains it 
tarnishes more quickly than a higher quality alloy. An 



i8 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



anode of 20 parts fine gold and 5 parts silver is used in 
the green gold gilding solution, and the same alloy, while, 
of course, more expensive than the 17-karat alloy, yet is 
more beautiful in finish and is more lasting. This alloy 
is 19 1-5 karats; 18 parts of fine gold and 6 of silver makes 
also a very good green gold, of course richer than the 
1 7-karat, and is used generally. 

The writer has found that for certain pieces of enamel 
work it has paid, in the long run, to have a little higher 
quality alloy used. Take, for instance, a double English 
violet, to be painted in fancy shades to match some piece 
sent by the customer. Under ordinary conditions the 
regular 14-karat alloy is used, but in this case the num- 
ber of firings contingent upon getting the exact shade 
often hardens the alloy, burns the copper, causing oxides, 
etc., which a little higher karat gold, while costing a little 
more, will more than offset by the saving in time and 
labor. Here is a 15-karat alloy that is used and recom- 
mended: Fine gold, 15 parts; fine silver, 6)4 parts; fine 
copper, 2>2 parts. The writer does not advocate the 
using of the 15-karat only under the above conditions, 
as the 14-karat alloy given is excellent for all enamel 
work, and if enamel does not stay on, chips, flies off, 
etc., there is some fault in the melting, or in the quality 
of the copper or silver. 

The following are a few reliable solder alloys for use 
with different qualities of gold : 

15-karat solder suitable for i8-karat gold. Fine gold, 
15 parts, or 15 pennyweights; fine silver, s}4 parts, or 5 
pennyweights, 12 grains; fine copper wire, 3>? parts, or 
3 pennyweights, 12 grains. 

i2-karat solder for 14-karat and 15-karat gold. Fine 
gold, 12- parts; fine silver, 7 parts; fine copper wire, 5 
parts; just before pouring add about 8 grains cadmium 
or zinc. 

lo-karat solder for 14-karat and 15-karat work, used 
in soldering on subsequent parts where article might be 
spoiled by the further use of the 12-karat solder. Fine 
gold, 10 parts, or 10 pennyweights; fine silver, 8 1-6 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 19 



parts, or 8 pennyweights, 4 grains; fine copper wire, 
5 5-6 parts, or 5 pennyweights, 20 grains. Add 16 
grains cadmium or zinc just before pouring. 

8-karat solder used in the last soldering on 14-karat 
polished gold work. Fine gold, 8 parts; fine silver, 9 1-3 
parts; fine copper wire, 6 2-3 parts. Add i pennyweight 
cadrriium or zinc just before pouring. 

6-karat solder. Fine gold, 6 parts; fine silver, 9 parts; 
fine copper wire, 6)4 parts; brass wire, 2)4 parts. Add 
brass after rest is melted and just before pouring. 

4-karat solder, used in repairing and in low grade and 
doubtful quality of gold. Fine gold, 4 parts; fine silver, 
9>2 parts; fine copper wire, 7 parts; brass wire, 3>^ parts. 
Add brass last, as in other alloys. 

In all work to be enameled over the solder seam or 
joint, it is imperative that the highest possible quality 
alloy solder be used. All of the solder alloys given are 
used to-day by large concerns, and while the writer has 
experimented with "cyanide" solders, also a special alloy 
supplied by a maker of a certain alloy which is mixed 
with the same karat gold as the work in hand, the special 
alloy burning out on soldering, leaving absolutely no ap- 
parent joint, yet these last are not practical for all kinds 
of work, and are well out of the way. If a 14-karat 
enamel gold ball made out of two halves is properly 
soldered with the 12-karat solder it will stand enameling. 

The 8-karat and 6-karat solders are for the lo-karat 
alloys. Would advise using the 4-karat solder very 
sparingly, as it is obvious that by reason of the small 
amount of gold used it will tarnish quickly, even under 
heavy gilding. It is readily seen that with all the cor- 
rect proportions before us of the different karats of gold, 
solders, etc., it is an easy matter to get out any desired 
quantity by simply multiplying all the items by the 
same multiple. For instance, if we wish to get out a 
bar of 14-karat enamel gold, say about 240 pennyweights, 
we proceed as follows: Fine gold, 14 x 10, equals 140 
parts, or pennyweights; fine silver, 7 x 10, equals 70 



20 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



parts, or pennyweights; fine copper, 3 x 10, equals 30 
parts, or pennyweights. Total, 240 parts, or pennyweights. 

The writer advises always weighing the fine gold off 
the scales first, then putting on the silver and adding the 
copper to make up 100. This prevents possible errors; 
we know we have 140 parts of fine gold and 100 parts of 
alloy. With these formulas furnished, it is compara- 
tively easy for the jeweler to compound other alloys for 
his particular work. For instance, for work not to be 
enameled, a solder of 11 parts fine gold and 13 parts alloy 
m.ay be used, and a 9-karat solder may be also made, 
adding the extra silver and copper, so that proportions 
are not materially altered. 

To reduce quality of gold multiply the weight of the 
metal on hand by the difference between its fineness and 
the fineness desired and divide the product by the latter. 
Result will be the amount of alloy to be added. 

Example: Reduce 20 pennyweights i8-karat to 14- 
karat. 

18-14 = 4 
20X4 



= 5 5-7 pennyweights of alloy to be added. 



14 

To increase the fineness: Multiply the weight of the 
metal by the difference between the baseness, that is, the 
number of parts of alloy in the gold in hand and in the 
quality desired, dividing the product by the latter. The 
result will be the amount of fine gold to be added. 

Example: Increase 20 pennyweights lo-karat to 14- 
karat. The difference between the baseness or alloys is 



14—10 = / 
20X4 
10 



= 8 pennyweights fine gold to be added. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 21 



CHAPTER V. 



GETTING OUT PLATING STOCK. 

A Particular Piece of Work when Bars Are of Good Size — 
Care Necessary in Annealing— Work must be Absolutely 
Clean — Tubing for Bracelets — Eating Out with Acid — 
Keep Close Watch of 10-Karat Goods. 

TO successfully get out plating stock is a little more 
difficult than would seem to the average beginner 
in this branch of the making of jewelry. The 
main points, however, are to have the two metals to be 
soldered together face up true (no wobble) and be per- 
fectly clean. Now the man who gets out a small piece 
of stock for a small job will very likely say, "It's a cinch," 
and he possibly will find it so ; but let him prepare a bar 
of some seven inches in length by about two in width, 
the base metal or composition 1425 points thick and the 
gold 475 points, making a combined thickness of half an 
inch, and he will have some job on his hands. Before 
the seamless tubing came to be almost universally used 
in the making of bracelets, bangles, and some other jew- 
elry, the factories made their own tubing out of plate, 
hence the necessity for plated stock on a large scale. 
While still later methods are now employed in the bend- 
ing up of hollow work, yet the plated stock will always 
be necessary in the making of certain goods. 

Brass, copper and other base metals are sometimes 
used as the backing, but there is a special plater's metal 
sold by the American Oil and Supply Co., of Newark, 
N. J., which eats out readily in the acid and is specially 
prepared for this purpose. If a sufficient number of 
bars be purchased, you can have them cut any length 
and width or thickness desired. This is a point worth 
remembering in the getting out of stock, to so utilize the 



22 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



material as to use all, or nearly all, and avoid the fre- 
quent refinings necessary to recover the gold. Concerns 
specializing on hollow work make a variety of goods, so 
that a narrow strip left over after cutting off a bangle 
may be drawn into hollow wire for knot brooches or 
scarf pins, chatelaine pins, etc. 

The gold and the base metal plates after being rolled 
the thickness before mentioned, are placed together in 
a piece of sheet iron exactly the same length and which 
has been bent up "U" shape, leaving one side of the "U" 
longer for convenience in handling with the tongs, and 
placed in the furnace for annealing. A large vise should 
be near at hand, the jaws of which are fitted with steel 
plates about 5-16 in. thick and at least as long and wide 
as the plated stock. When the metals are red, remove 
and place in vise and screw up tight. Care must be 
taken not to get too hot, running the risk of perhaps 
melting the gold, or partly burning in on the base metal. 

After removing from the vise, the plates are boiled 
out in dilute sulphuric acid "pickle," dried and filed 
with a clean file. From now on the greatest care must 
be taken in order to avoid getting even a blush of grease 
on the plates. See that your rasp or file is not oily, nor 
has a fleck of beeswax on it. The plates should be han- 
dled with tissue paper to keep from the touch of the 
fingers. After filing, go over with a sharp scraper and 
finally finish by describing a sort of lattice work with the 
point of the scraper. The solder is of plate, rolled as 
thin as possible, about five or six points in the dial screw 
gauge, scraped carefully, and after evenly painting over 
with well-rubbed borax and water, to which a drop or 
two of grain alcohol may be added, is laid on the base 
metal in strips. 

The solder should be of the best quahty: for 14- 
karat work 12-karat solder is used, and for lo-karat plat- 
ing 8-karat is the best. The reason for this is that 
lower grade solders tend to burn in and rot the alloy; 
furthermore, the joint or sweating is better with the 
high quality solder, it works better in rolling and stands 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 23 



up better in the eating out in the acid. The plater's 
metal is left a little wider than the gold and the solder 
projecting makes it easier to watch the soldering pro- 
cess. The gold bar placed on the base metal is put in 
between two iron plates of about }i inch thickness the 
length and width of the stock, bound tightly with heavy 
iron binding wire and placed in the muffler. An or- 
dinary gas annealing furnace will do, but the gas of the 
muffler can be controlled and regulated much better. 
As soon as the solder runs remove at once, and, taking in 
tongs, place again in vise; remove and after boiling out, 
if directions are carefully followed, you should have a 
good bar of plating. The stock may be rolled to any 
thickness wished. It is usually gotten down to about 
225 points for bangles and thinner for smaller work. 
The rolling and annealing should be done by a careful 
man; the annealing is more frequent than in the case of 
all gold stock. 

Plated stock on a much smaller scale is made by the 
steam blowpipe, observing the same general rules in pre- 
paring. In the case of green, red or yellow gold plating 
it is better to use 250 points to 600 points thickness of 
backing. When we say red gold we mean an alloy of 
gold and copper only, which is almost as soft as the 
other colors. 

In painting on the borax, if a shiny spot or spots show 
and seem to persistently refuse to take the borax, keep 
rubbing until the plates, both solder and all, are evenly 
coated. The shiny spots are usually grease and must 
be rubbed or scraped out to ensure the flowing of the 
solder. The argument has been advanced that wire or 
thick strips of solder placed on one edge and drawn 
through is a better way. This may serve in small stuff, 
but does not work in the getting out of large bars. 

Tubing is also gotten out by drawing the gold over the 
base metal and, as in the case of bracelets, winding iron 
wire around before bending up on the arbor, to keep the 
seam from buckling or opening up. A great many 
manufacturers to-day make their own tubing of the. 



24 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY.- 



drawn-up seamed hollow wire, claiming that in the long 
run they are better off; the seamless tubing developing 
thin spots oftentimes, which makes the profitable work- 
ing of it uncertain. In the winding up of 6 millimeter 
width bracelets, or wider, that are of round wire, it is 
advisable to put a brass hollow wire in the centre. Do 
not use solid wire, even if you should find it necessary 
to draw up plate so that it is apparently solid (no hole 
in the centre) ; the acid will soon find the joint and at- 
tack the base metal more readily. If the brass core is 
not used, the tubing will flatten in the winding on the 
arbor and an oval shape will be the result. 

Bracelets are now made by using gold hollow wire, 
carefully wound with iron wire and filled with sand well 
packed in so that there are no air spaces for buckling; 
bend the ends of the tube over before winding. Some 
shops use cement in place of the sand, with a series of 
gas jets to uniformly heat the tubing, and using a sort 
of squirt gun which injects the melted cement into the 
warmed tube. The sand, however, is the best arrange- 
ment. 

Small work like spring rings are made in quantities 
by drawing up hollow wire of about 35 to 40 points and 
carefully soldering by using a thin wire of solder rolled 
flat and sprung in the seam, then wound on a grooved 
arbor. The rings come out slightly off the round, al- 
most cushion shape in fact, and are then, after sawing 
apart, placed in a press having top and bottom plates 
hollowed out to shape up a perfect round. This brings 
the shape back again and the spring ring is finished up 
with the jump ring, snap, spring, etc. 

As mentioned, strips left over are rolled thinner, say 
to about 175 points, drawn up into tubing and bent into 
chatelaine pins or hairpin ornaments. The tubing, 
especially when it is to be drawn into widths of 6 milli- 
meters or less, should be first filed on a bevel so that when 
it rounds up the gold edge will come together. Before 
putting it in the acid all work should first be shaped to 
the desired design. Bangles and bracelets should be 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 25 



cut to size, soldered, and rounded on the arbor. A few 
holes drilled on the inside greatly facilitate in the eating 
out, and, especially in lo-karat work, the quickest way 
of getting out the base metal must be used. In 14-karat 
work nitric acid C. P. and hot water in equal parts may 
be used. In lo-karat work use 3 ounces nitric to 9 
ounces hot water. Keep acid working; one shop the 
writer saw had an ingenious arrangement of a steel bar 
suspended from an arm in the end of the shafting; as the 
shaft revolved, the bar would pound on the bench on 
which were the vessels with the acid, thereby keeping 
it in motion. 

Fresh acid should be put in every two hours, carefully 
pouring off the old into a large crock for the subsequent 
recovery of the silver from the solder. All lo-karat 
goods must be closely watched, as, by reason of the large 
proportion of alloy, there is danger of the acid attacking 
gold or rotting it. Under no circumstances leave in 
over night, and as soon as all bubbling or effervescence 
ceases, showing that either the acid is saturated or that 
the base metal is eaten out, pour off acid at once, then 
rinse first in cold water, and finally in hot. To still 
further kill traces of the acid the work is now boiled in 
a strong solution of water and ammonia. 

While plated stock is perhaps not used as much as it 
was some ten years ago, yet some fine jewelry is still 
made in this way, notably knurled or bead-edge link 
buttons and studs, beads and balls of various sizes and 
shapes. The greatest fault usually is in the eating out, 
the tendency being to leave work in the acid over night, 
consequently, nearly alv/ays in the case of lo-karat 
work, resulting in spoiled goods. 



26 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER VI. 



WIRE DRAWING AND WORKING. 
Melting the Gold — The Best Alloys and Their Proportions — 
Steel Arbors for Ring Winding — Paper Wrappers for 
Oval Arbors — Gutting and Closing Rings — Making 
Twist Wire. 

IN melting gold for wire it is generally the custom to 
use scrap gold or that which has already been in the 
crucible two or three times. The reason for so do- 
ing is that we get a harder and tougher wire, more spring, 
etc. This does not always follow, however; where the 
prepared alloys are used a fickle bar of gold oftentimes 
results, especially if gold has already been melted twice; 
does not roll well, develops cracks in spite of frequent 
annealing, and yet after being broken down is softer 
than may be desired. The best alloys to use for wire 
are silver and copper only, with the fine gold, and gen- 
erally in the proportion of twice as much copper as silver. 
An alloy of fine gold, lOO parts; fine silver, 24 parts, and 
copper, 48 parts, will make, after three meltings, an ex- 
cellent 14-Jkarat wire, and is used for knife-edge work. 

A bar of this alloy should stand a light hammering on 
the anvil and rolling to about , two-thirds of its original 
thickness before annealing. If it shows deep cracks 
right at the start it must be remelted, using plenty of sal 
ammoniac, and if still brittle remelt, using about half a 
teaspoonful of corrosive sublimate. Be careful not to 
inhale the deadly poisonous fumes. 

Always examine after putting through each draft for 
possible cracks and file out at once before they are al- 
lowed to get deeper. Before drawing through the steel 
plates be sure to well cover with beeswax. The best 
way to do this is to melt the wax in an iron ladle and 
then dip in coil of wire, which has previously been 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



warmed. If draw plates are kept in a clean drawer or 
box and are at intervals well washed in kerosene they 
will last much longer and give smoother wire. 

Steel wire is best for arbors for winding rings on, but 
if some sizes are hard to get, German silver or brass may 
be used. This is drawn from a thicker wire, so that it 
is very hard. In making oval rings the arbors must be 
steel to stand the frequent annealings. Always wind 
thick wrapping paper around an oval arbor before wind- 
ing wire, or else you will have difficulty in getting rings 
off after annealing. In making rings it is a good plan 
to mark sizes, arbors, number of thicknesses and style 
of paper use^on oval arbors, in a book for future reference. 

Be careful in sawing oflf rings so as to get a good joint. 
Rings are made fiat and closed by placing on a smooth, 
flat die and tapping with a hoUowed-out punch, which 
draws ends up tight. Another way is to use a die with 
a V-shaped hole in which rings are placed ; a brass punch 
is put over ring and tapped with hammer. 

The fine rings used in rope chain are first drawn to 
extreme small sizes by diamond, agate or sapphire draw 
plates, after getting down as far as practicable in the 
steel ones. After winding on arbor they are cut by put- 
ting on another wire which has a piece of watch main- 
spring inserted in the end so that it sticks up enough to 
act as a sort of knife. The cutting edge is sharpened 
and the wire is fitted snugly into hole of a draw plate 
and sharply pulled with a pair of draw tongs. The rings 
are caught by holding in a bottle while process is going 
on. In the same manner the half-ring trimming used in 
Etruscan jewelry is also cut; in this case, of course, let- 
ting "knife" project on both sides. Great skill is neces- 
sary in having knife of exact thickness, so that after 
cutting rings they will be opened the right space for 
linking up. This is particularly important in rope 
chainmaking. In making twist wire of two or more 
strands be sure that wire is well and closely twisted, al- 
ways remembering that in subsequent working of the 
twist, winding rings, or other manipulating, that the 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY: 



twist unwinds a little, and if not well twisted in the first 
case will result in a scrawny, spready twist. 

In cutting a piece of stock from plate to be used as 
wire, always cut the same direction as the grain runs, 
or, in other words, cut the way gold was put through 
rolls. The rather too common practice of cutting a 
strip off the "end" generally shows up a number of 
broken rings, or else cracky, seamy ones in winding. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 29 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE MAKING OF SOLDERS. 

Reason for Using Copper Wire rather than Shot Copper — 

Components Should be Proportionately Like Those of 

- the Stock — Best Solder for Easy Flowing is within Two 

Karats of Stock it is Used on — Process of Melting and 

Mixing. 

COPPER wire is used instead of shot copper in the 
making of solder by reason of the "grain" in the 
wire, which permits of an easier flowing solder.* 
Shot copper is used by some manufacturers, however, and 
for the work in hand gives good results. This wire is 
pure lake copper, and may be purchased from Reichhelm 
& Co., New York. The ordinary commercial electric 
copper wire, used for wiring, etc., contains traces of 
arsenic, lead, tin, iron, antimony, etc., and is not recom- 
mended. The copper wire for alloying is already drawn 
to the desired thickness, about one-eighth of an inch, and 
is bought by the pound. 

In the soldering of jewelry it is imperative, to get the 
best results, that a solder of which the component parts 
are as near in proportion as those of the goods to be put 
together be made, and also that the highest possible 
quality solder be used. Another thing: if a 12-karat 
solder, made of gold, silver and copper, is employed to 
solder a 14-karat article in which the alloy is made of 
gold, silver, copper and alloy (of almost any kind), your 
14-karat stock will melt almost as soon as the 12-karat 
solder. This teaches us that an alloy composed of more 
items melts more easily and at a lower temperature. 



*See previous note, Chapter III. 



30 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



In the making of solders it is not advisable to use more 
than three component parts, viz.: Gold, silver, and cop- 
per (unless it be a low-grade solder for repairing), as, al- 
though it will flow easier, yet it is more brittle, rots in 
frequent solderings and is affected by the pickling solu- 
tions ; so that, no matter what alloys may enter into the 
making of your i8-karat, 14-karat, or lo-karat stock, use 
only the gold, silver and copper solders. Add a few 
grains of cadmium for 12-karat and lo-karat goods, with 
an addition of brass for the 8-karat, 6-karat and lower 
grade solders, used for lo-karat and repairing. Now the 
easiest flowing solder is that made within two karats 
fine of the stock you are working on. This is because the 
work has to be heated to almost melting point before the 
solder will run and when it does flow a perfect blending 
is assured. Low-grade solders will not flow or run on 
high quality work, simply because the solder runs before 
the work is well heated. The solder, therefore, simply 
melts "lumpy," and if additional heat is applied starts to 
burn out and "rots." The whole principle in fine solder- 
ing is simply using as high a quality of solder as possible, 
reserving the "repair" solder for a possible break at the 
last minute. 

The alloying of gold in the making of solders, or, for 
that matter, in the making of stock, is not merely putting 
the right proportions into a crucible, waiting until it is 
melted, and then pouring into the ingot — it is a little 
more than that. Copper or alloy melts at a lower tem- 
perature than silver, so put in these metals first, then 
cover with the silver, and lastly cover well with the gold. 
It is obvious that if the copper or the alloy were put in 
last it would be melted and partly burnt out before the 
silver and gold were melted, thus making a brittle and 
also a higher quality solder than intended by reason of 
the copper burning out or volatilizing. The few grains 
of cadmium used merely assists in making solder flow 
more easily, and is not considered in preparing the alloy, 
as it burns out after soldering. When the metal is 
melted, which can be ascertained by inserting an iron 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 31 



rod, poking down under the charcoal, by the way, any 
gold which is on top and seems to stick, stir vigorously, 
let stand a few moments, stir again, turn off gas, and just 
before lifting out to pour, add the cadmium, using a 
small pair of tongs and putting in well under the char- 
coal, then pour as speedily as possible. Some of the 
old-timers use zinc (pure) in place of cadmium, especially 
in melting for cast work. 

It is a pretty sight to watch an expert caster as he 
handles the liquid metal, adding the tiny pellets of zinc 
at just the right instant before pouring. This zinc add- 
ing can be easily overdone — a "smitch" too much and a 
brittle casting is the result. It also gives the gold a pale 
color. The great point in its favor is its making the 
molten metal more "watery," insuring a perfect casting. 
Where zinc is used, get the rods used in plating batteries. 

The proper time to add the cadmium is a matter of 
experience, it depending on the amount of metal, etc., 
but a few directions in a general way will help. Gold, 
silver and copper melt at a much higher temperature, so 
that these mixed metals must be allowed to cool before 
adding the cadmium — when the crucible begins to show 
a dull red in the furnace, is about right. Do not, of 
course, let it get too cold, so that the mass solidifies before 
pouring. As before stated, powdered (fresh) lump sal 
ammoniac and willow charcoal powder are best for melt- 
ing, using about half and half, adding a little more char- 
coal after gold is melted. Use enough to well cover in 
both cases. 

In the making of new work where the karat quality is 
of course known, no solder less than four karats lower 
should be used, or five at the outside. An 8-karat or a 
6-karat solder is only used as a matter of expediency, but 
is not recommended in working on 14-karat goods. No 
brass, zinc, or cadmium should be used in making of any 
solders over 12-karat, and in this latter very sparingly, 
— about 8 grains to 24 pennyweights of solder. In the 
solders where brass is used the wire form is best, and 
may be purchased from any hardware store. It is cut 



32 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



into about half-inch pieces, and, as in the case of the cad- 
mium or zinc, added after the other metals are melted 
and poured as soon as mass is thoroughly mixed with the 
iron rod. Brass is merely a mixture of copper and zinc, 
hence the necessity for quick pouring. A black smoke 
rising from the crucible will advise us that the brass is 
melted and is burning out. 

In addition to solders already given, here is a very 
easy flowing 6-karat solder: Fine gold, 6 pennyweights 
silver, 8 pennyweights; copper wire, 6 pennyweights 
zinc, 4 pennyweights. Also a solder 2^ karats fine 
Fine gold, 2^4 pennyweights; silver, lo pennyweights 
copper wire, jyi pennyweights, and zinc, 4 pennyweights. 
Not less than 24 pennyweights total of either of these 
solders should be melted. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. .33 



CHAPTER VIII. 



SOLDER AND THE QUALITY STAMP. 

Stamped Products of Reliable Factories Make Close Assays 
— How to Figure Karat Quality — Solder Formulas 
Should be Verified — Alloy for Filling Shells — Benefits 
of the Stamping Law. 

MOST jewelry factories of any standing and rating 
stamp the karat quality on their goods, and 
if a piece were assayed, it has generally shown 
better than 13-karat in the case of 14-karat stamped 
jewelry. Of course, in a solid wedding ring, or a pair of 
flat links, where there is practically no solder, the gold 
should assay 14-karat. In hollow work, where two 
halves are soldered together, it is well to know just how 
much gold is used and also how much solder. 

Take, for instance, a belt pin, when the front is applied 
to the back and soldered. We are using, say, 12-karat 
solder. Weigh the gold parts, with joint, catch, and 
pin tongue, before any solder is sweated on, and weigh 
again after pin is made. The difference in weight will, 
of course, show how much solder is added. Now, pre- 
suming the clean gold weighed four pennyweights of 
14-karat gold, and twelve grains of 12-karat solder is 
added, knowing that in every pennyweight of 14-karat 
stock there are fourteen grains of fine gold, and to every 
pennyweight of 12-karat solder there are twelve grains 
of fine gold, we find that in the four and a half penny- 
weights of both we have sixty- two grains of fine gold; 
and to get the karat quality we divide by 4^, which 
gives us 13 7-9, which karat the pin would assay. 

Now, the using of file solder in hollow work, in the 
hands of indifferent or incompetent workmen, is a se- 
rious proposition in that some of them fairly "slob" the 
solder on, using enough on one pin in some cases to 



34 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



solder probably half a dozen. Where the price is al- 
ready fixed, this, in the first case, is simply giving away 
gold, and in the second case, the karat quality of the pin 
is being lowered considerably, so that if it were assayed 
it might not test better than 13-karat or even less. In 
some hollow work, not for enameling, as low as 8-karat 
gold solder is used and the solder must be used as spar- 
ingly as possible to keep above the 13-karat mark. 

Large manufacturers, making match boxes, vanity 
boxes, lorgnettes, knot brooches, etc., where the parts 
are first flushed with solder and then sweated together, 
in order to offset the lowering of the standard quality, 
use an alloy from one-quarter to a karat finer than is 
subsequently stamped. 

In view of the fact that a lot of formulas furnished by 
refiners, copied from books, foreign publications, etc., 
simply tell how to get or make a hard solder that may be 
used for 1 8-karat work, or 15-karat, or 10- karat, as the 
case may be, neglecting to advise you of the karat qual- 
ity, the Avriter strongly urges the jeweler to find out what 
grade the solder is before starting. Suppose you should 
ask for a good, hard solder that will stand enameling on 
1 4- karat new work, and a correspondent furnished you 
with the following: Fine gold, 5 pennyweights; silver 
(fine), 2 22-24 pennyweights, and copper wire, 2 2-24 
pennyweights. Add up the items and your total will 
be 10 pennyweights; in this, 5 pennyweights of gold 
have been used, so that the quality is 5-10 of 24 fine, or 
i2-karat solder. These recipes furnished by trade pub- 
lications in response to inquiries, are usually copies from 
foreign trade journals, and, while generally correct, yet 
the writer has known of instances where mistakes have 
crept in either in. translating or in the printing. 

In reply to an inquiry sent in some time ago, a New 
York trade journal furnished the following gold solder 
for 1 8-karat work: "Fine gold, 120 grains; fine silver, 36 
grains, and fine copper, 2 grains." This solder is 18 
18-79 fine, or better than the 1 8-karat it is proposed to 
use it on. Going on, the article says: "For lo-karat 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 35 

solder use fine gold, 140 grains; fine silver, 70 grains, and 
fine copper, 75 grains." This is 140-285 of 24-1, or 
II 15-19-karat solder, instead of lo-karat. An 8-karat 
solder turns out to be 7 7-1 1 -karat, the proportions pub- 
lished being, "fine gold, 140 grains; fine silver, 170 
grains, and fine copper, 130 grains." 

Sometimes in the course of manufacturing the jeweler 
is called upon to make a solid piece of work, where ordi- 
narily the pattern is made hollow. In many cases it is 
not practical to take a heavy solid piece of gold and 
strike it in the die, so a special alloy, of same karat qual- 
ity, is made and used as a solder or filling for the regular 
shell. A head of an animal is ordered, but must be solid 
all the way through. The usual process is gone through 
of raising it out of the regular stock, only that the fewer 
number of items that are allowed in the alloy the less 
chances there are of melting when the "filling" is sub- 
sequently applied. A 14-karat alloy of 14 parts fine 
gold, 3 parts fine silver, and 7 parts fine copper shot will 
permit of a 14-karat solder consisting of fine gold, 14 
parts; fine silver, 6 parts; fine copper wire, 2 parts; pale 
Guinea alloy, 2 parts, and about 12 grains of zinc (pure) 
or cadmium. In both instances the alloy is 14-karat, 
the 12 grains of cadmium or zinc not counting, as in the 
soldering it burns out, being only put in the alloy to aid 
in the flushing of the solder. 

A 14-karat solder for 14-karat work is not recom- 
mended for general practice, as it is too brittle for solder- 
ing parts, and the relative proportions of the alloys enter- 
ing into its composition are not close enough to the 14- 
karat goods used. As before stated, the best solders are 
made of alloys using as near as possible same proportions 
as the alloy of the gold you are working on. 

The recent stamping law enacted in New York state is 
practically a life saver to the legitimate manufacturer, 
forcing the other fellows, as it does, to make their lin- 
ings, inside posts, various stifTenings, connections, etc., 
of plump karat quality as stamped. These same makers 
used formerly to apply silver or other metal caps inside 



36 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

of link buttons as bearings for the settings of the stones, 
while the connecting bars were of 8-karat stock. First- 
class stores did not hesitate to buy these goods, presum- 
ing, doubtless (if they ever gave it thought), that "Jones" 
was figuring his goods at a little lower profit than the 
old reliable house of "Brown & Co." It is the writer's 
experience that the best policy in the long run is to make 
plump quality goods. One may go merrily along for a 
number of years shutting his eyes, or indifferent to the 
amount of solder or other karat quality entering into the 
making of jewelry, but upon a suspicion being enter- 
tained the goods are tested, and upon being found of low 
quality it is a mighty hard proposition to get customers' 
confidence again. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 37 



CHAPTER IX. 



SOLDERING. 

Parts Must be Kept Free from Oxidation — Nothing Better 

than Slate Borax for This Purpose — Setting Up the Parts 

— Use of the Blowpipe — ^Various Ways of Using Fluids 

— Economy in Using "Nests" — Clamps for Setting Up. 

THE whole secret of successful soldering is simply 
keeping the parts to be united free from oxida- 
tion during the heating and running of the solder. 
There are a number of preparations for this purpose on 
the market, but the old-fashioned slate borax is as good 
as any and better than some. A "soldering fluid," put 
up by Schneider, of Newark, is very good, especially in 
the case of soldering parts to be enameled over the seam. 
This fluid prevents pin holes and is easily applied. As 
soon as the article is successfully flushed, the heat must 
be removed or the solder will commence to burn out. For 
gold work the borax is rubbed up on a slate rather thin, 
but in silver jewelry it should be the thickness of cream, 
and the silver should be well scraped before applying the 
solder. To prevent the blistering and rising of the 
borax during heating, "Borum junk" is rubbed up with 
the borax. Some jewelers mix a little gum tragacanth, 
which has been previously dissolved in boiled water, in 
with the borax; others mix a little powdered boracic 
acid in their water bottles. Keep your borax slate 
clean. A teaspoonful of grain alcohol in an 8-ounce 
bottle of water helps to cut the borax up better in the 
rubbing up. 

Firms making low-price silver and rolled plate goods 
set up the parts in ordinary mucilage or glue on sheet 
iron forms, then borax the joints, apply the solder and 
heat, using steam blowpipes. These are fitted to each 
workman's bench, and by covering the entire bench 



- 38 HOW TO MAKE JEWELR Y. 



with a sheet of asbestos a quantity of work is "charged" 
and soldered at once. Speaking of the blowpipe, it is 
very useful in any shop, as, for instance, a fine piece of 
work which has been set up in wax and plaster Paris 
poured over it, after settling and hardening, is heated, 
by the steam or power blowpipe and then soldered by- 
the aid of the mouth blowpipe. 

All work must be free from any traces of oil or dirt, 
and should be annealed and boiled out before soldering. 
Rolled plate jewelry is boiled in a solution of boracic acid 
and water before soldering. Get a pound of this acid and 
put in a gallon jar or crock filled with water, take your 
boiling pan, or an ordinary galvanized pan will do, and 
place work in, well cover and boil well; pour back the 
liquid and thoroughly dry the work, and a film of boracic 
powder will be coating the work. Use an easy flowing 
solder — fine silver, 40 parts, and brass wire, 20 parts, is 
good, adding the brass after the silver has been melted, 
remembering that the silver is melted under a good layer 
of charcoal powder, a small piece of borax added after 
it is melted, well poked down under the charcoal, then 
the brass quickly shoved in, well stirred with an iron rod 
and poured quickly into a heated ingot mould. It is 
well to keep in mind that rolled plate stock will not stand 
many annealings, especially the 1-40 stock, so figure out 
your soldering accordingly. 

Another way to apply the anti-oxidizing fluid (boracic 
acid) is to take a glass jar, well stoppered, fill about half 
full of boracic acid, and the balance with pure grain al- 
cohol. Just before using, shake well and dip, or paint 
work with a small camel's hair brush and ignite over a 
flarne. The joint to be soldered is then scraped, borax 
applied, and it is ready for soldering. In resoldering a 
number of times, it is advisable to freshly coat the 
work each time, as the glaze is liable to burn or chip 
off. In all cases the boracic acid is applied before any 
soldering is done; the joint for soldering is scraped clean 
and the regular borax applied as in ordinary soldering. 
Still another way is to rub up an equal quantity of yellow 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 39 



ochre and boracic acid with a piece of slate borax and 
apply to the work. Great care must be exercised in this 
last method in keeping the ochre from the soldering 
joint. In fine close work, like the jointing of lockets, 
etc., ochre or powdered rouge, rotten stone or powdered 
tripoli is used to prevent the joints from soldering to- 
gether. One very good jeweler, whom the writer has 
met, used to use the juice of an onion. As this last 
"kink" did not facilitate any, nor was any easier to use 
than the first mentioned methods, the average work- 
man may be easily excused for not wishing to be con- 
stantly inhaling the odor of this pungent "fruit." 

As in the case of borax in place of most of the hard 
soldering fluids, there is nothing any better than the zinc 
muriatic acid mixture for soft soldering and repairing 
of all kinds of work. Get pure zinc clippings from your 
plumber and add to the muriatic acid until no more zinc 
is dissolved. Towards the end place on your sand bath 
and use a gentle heat. Be sure that some undissolved 
zinc remains. This insures the complete "killing" of 
the acid. Now pour off carefully into a glass-stoppered 
bottle and add about one-third 20 per cent liquid am- 
monia and a little water. This solution will not rust the 
bench tools. For certain new work, such as the assem- 
bling in emblem work, where the soldering acid might 
tarnish, Venice turpentine is used. This is made by dis- 
solving resin in turpentine gradually, well stirring from 
day to day until it is of the consistency of a syrup. 
Parts are well scraped, the "Venice" and solder applied, 
and after soldering the work is plunged into alcohol, 
which removes the scum and cleans work as new. 

Occasionally the finisher is called upon to do a soft 
solder job, a setting to be soldered in a brooch, for in- 
stance. This is best done with the small copper solder- 
ing iron, which is heated by placing in a fork over the gas 
flame. The better run of factories, as a rule, never use 
soft solder in fastening in any settings or parts, usually 
either burnishing or screwing them in. In this respect 
a wide contrast in methods is observed, as in the case of 



40 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



the very finest diamond jewelry imported the foreign 
workmen seem to take a dehght in "plastering" settings, 
parts and sections together with soft solder. The pre- 
pared charcoal soldering blocks are now generally used 
in place of the ordinary burnt charcoal. Right here is 
an expense item that can be kept considerably lower by 
the use of "nests," made from layers of mosquito net- 
ting, or iron wire coiled. Always see that an asbestos 
pad is used wherever feasible. Some workmen have a 
habit of using the charcoal block for everything, from 
annealing a piece of steel to soldering a fine, delicate "set 
up" of wire work. It will be found that a great saving 
will be effected in the course of a year if the block is used 
only when absolutely necessary. In fact, for a great 
deal of work good jewelers prefer the "nest," as a quicker 
and better heat can be obtained. 

Workmen should be taught and encouraged to make 
sheet or iron wire clamps for holding parts together to 
be soldered. Old-timers, that is, some of them, will frit- 
ter away a whole day sometimes in tying a few joints and 
catches on to brooches, when the whole job can be done 
in an hour by another man who has used his head a little. 
The "pickle" used in boiling out work after hard solder- 
ing is the ordinary commercial sulphuric acid and water, 
in the proportion of about a half-cup of acid to two 
quarts of water. Add the acid to the water carefully. 
This pickle is used for work under 14- karat and for all 
silver jewelry. For 14-karat work an "acid" made of 
four ounces of nitric (C. P.) acid and one gallon of water 
is used. This, after boihng the work in, cleans it and 
also sharpens up the solder joints, removing a little of 
the solder. Good quality solder should be used to avoid 
"rotting." In rinsing, cold water should first be used 
to kill the traces of acid or pickles, then the hot water, 
after which dry in sawdust. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 41 



CHAPTER X. 



TIPS ON SOLDERING AND STONESETTING. 

Twist Wire Border for a Cameo Brooch — ^Applying Trim- 
mings to a Plain Flange— Setting Soft Stones by Ham- 
mering — Sandblasting and Coloring — Never Use a Hot 
Solution— The Bezel Setting. 

TWIST, shot, or other wire is soldered around a 
cameo brooch or other mountings by first mak- 
ing a twist wire ring, soldering the joint with 
hardest solder and gently shaping on a round or oval 
mandrel until it fits snugly to the brooch. Now, touch 
lightly with thin borax water in about six places and ap- 
ply pellets of solder of easy running quality. Apply an 
even heat all over brooch, being careful to run solder 
first on side farthest from twist wire joint. The solder 
should be rolled very thin and cut very small. Tacking 
in five or six places will hold wire securely. 

Where it is practical, or where a twist wire is made 
Roman and put around a highly polished mounting, the 
wire is simply snapped or forced on, being held only by 
friction. Where it is sometimes desired to put around 
more trimming, say a shot wire, a plain wire and also a 
twist wire, soldering on to a plain flange all the way 
round, the plain bezel with the flange is polished first 
with tripoli, washed out, then annealed and boiled in 
pickle. Now rub up a clean mixture of borax and water 
and apply evenly all over the brooch. Anneal, let cool, 
place on the trimming, and apply borax with a brush 
to the latter. 

The fact that the plain flange is protected by a coating 
of burnt-on borax will insure soldering and at the same 
time keep the solder from "splashing" or running where 
it is not wanted. The solder of course should be of a 
lower quality than that used in soldering on the bezel 



42 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

and the flange. If the directions are carefully followed 
and the solder applied evenly it will run in underneath 
the wire and after boiling out in pickle a clean piece of 
well soldered work will be the result. Should a few 
spots not be soldered, borax carefully, apply solder, let 
dry, then paint as close as you can with a niixture of yel- 
low ochre and water to keep solder from running where 
not wanted. 

The fine twist wire ornamented work noticed in ear- 
rings, belt pins, hat pins, etc., is all done by applying the 
"trimming" on to an annealed borax covered back- 
ground, the tiny pieces of trimming, be they twist, plain 
wire, shots, rosettes, etc., being moistened in a weak 
solution of gum tragacanth and water; after drying, the 
work is gone over with a sprinkler in the shape of an old 
toothbrush dipped in borax and pressed with the finger- 
nail. File solder is now applied by means of an arrange- 
ment in the shape of a pipe, the stem notched so that the 
nail in scraping along causes the solder to spray out of 
the opening. 



The hammering or burnishing in rings of soft stones, 
as coral, turquoise matrix, opals, etc., is a matter of skill 
and long experience and also adaptability for this ex- 
tremely patience-requiring style of work. Setting in sil- 
ver is, comparatively, not so difficult as with gold. If 
the tips here given are carefully followed, however, you 
should meet with some success. In making a gypsy ring, 
or other style where stone is to be hammered in, leave 
stock heavier than it will be after finishing. File as 
slantingly as you can to the setting, as the more raised 
or pointed the edge the better are the chances for ham- 
mering over on to the stone. 

The stone should be fitted very snug, the ring being 
firmly cemented on a shellac stick. Some setters prefer 
to do the hammering, holding the stick in a vise, while 
others have a boy help them. The latter method io safe, 
as it enables the setter to get closer to the job. Small 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 43 

flat head punches are used and the hammering must be 
Hght. Work evenly all round the stone and after securely 
fastening in and testing by means of a piece of wax 
(placing a piece about the size of a walnut on the stone 
and sharply rapping the stick on side of bench) the ring 
may be filed and smoothed. Setters as a rule do not 
cover the stone, but a varnish of alcohol and shellac will 
afford a good protection, drying, as it does, in a few mo- 
ments. Barrett or safety back files are used and the 
smoothing for polishing is done with a Scotch stone and 
water. 

Where work is to be sandblasted all soft stones must 
be covered, using strips of tissue paper dipped in the 
shellac alcohol mixture. Wherever it is practical in the 
making of rings or any kind of jewelry where a bezel is 
first made for the stone, this setting should be i8-karat; 
an alloy of 18 parts fine gold to 4 of silver and 2 of cop- 
per is excellent. The slight cost of using i8-karat stock 
is more than made up in the saving from breaking of 
stones. 

Jewelry with soft stones should never be put in a hot 
gilding solution. The writer has seen opals sometimes 
come through all right, but it is risky. Use a cold bath, 
or one nearly so, and a stronger current. The solution is 
generally made a little richer also when used cold. Some 
work where stones are burnished in may be rose finished 
or colored before setting. Paint over with the shellac 
varnish, except just the setting edge. If neatly burnished 
the setting may be given a frosted and finished effect by 
touching with a glass brush or gently rubbing with small 
pointed pieces of emery paper, thus doing away with 
the necessity of further gilding. 

Th.^ later styles of jewelry show stones held in by a 
fancy claw or scroll. These prongs are made out of soft 
gold. Still other pieces are set from the back, the stone 
being held in by a few claws on back of the pin. Of all 
the soft stones the turquoise matrix is the most tricky, 
and this stone is very seldom hammered in. A very good 
effect of this style of setting is gotten by letting in a nar- 



44 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

row i8-karat bezel to the ring so that an edge sticks up 
just enough to turn over on the stone. If smoothed off 
carefully the ring looks pretty much like a hammered-in 
stone job. The chief thing to look out for is a clean sol- 
dering so that no pinholes or specks show up at the 
finishing. 

The shellac may be removed by placing in wood al- 
cohol. All rose finished or colored work should not be 
given final scratch-brushing or relieving of raised sur- 
faces until the last thing. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 45 



CHAPTER XL 



REPAIRING STONE SET WORK. 

A Delicate and Trying Problem — Always a Risk in Heating 
Stones — Easy Method of Protecting Stones while Sol- 
dering — Some "Secret" Methods — Remove Jewels for 
Enameling or Hard Soldering. 

TO the jewelry repairer, the most delicate and try- 
ing problem presented is the soldering of broken 
parts with the stones left in. A ring, pin, or 
other article comes in, the break perhaps just far enough 
removed from the stone to give rise to the question, 
"Will it stand the heat?" The writer wishes to say right 
now, that where a stone, no matter what it is, can be re- 
moved, do not put it through the fire. This applies to 
diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, as well as 
the other stones. It is better to stand the cost of re- 
setting the stone, especially if it is a large one, than to 
have to furnish a new one occasionally. The four stones 
mentioned will admit of being heated red hot, and in 
most cases come out all right, yet it is risky; stones with 
flaws are apt to crack still further or get "salty" or dull. 
Where it is advisable to take the chance, these stones 
should always be coated with boracic acid dissolved in 
alcohol and ignited, so as to form a coating during the 
subsequent soldering. 

It is a matter of record that some diamonds are more 
susceptible to heat than others. The writer knows of 
diamond chains where twenty and more stones are sol- 
dered in little bezels, in which they have, in some in- 
stances, become dulled during the soldering, necessitating 
a repplishing at the diamond cutters. They were taken 
from one lot of stones of the same grade and quality, 
and to all intents and purposes were expected to mount 
as clean as the others. Some jewelers claim that the pre- 



46 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



pared charcoal block upon which they solder the links 
emits a vapor which dulls the stone. There may be some 
truth in this, yet it does not explain why the diamonds 
in an enameled piece will sometimes get white and life- 
less when being "fired" in the enameling furnace on a re- 
pair job. At all events, the diamond jewelers simply ac- 
cept the situation in as philosophical a manner as possible, 
and if sometimes, after going along merrily for a few 
weeks, they run into a bunch of hard luck and "scorch" 
a few diamonds, they are sent to the cutters for repol- 
ishing. 

It may be asked, "Why cannot the diamonds be set 
after the soldering?" Replying to this question, the 
most delicate mounting and one showing the minimum 
amount of metal is the half-round girdle which is snapped 
around the stone and soldered, with the connecting rings 
afterwards applied, to make the chain. In soldering 
rings, if the break is at the bottom of the shank, or not 
too near the shoulder, and the shank is not too thick, 
nearly all stones can easily be protected by wrapping 
thoroughly wet and "soggy" tissue paper around the 
stone or stones and well pressing on with a pair of spring 
tweezers during the soldering. A very quick flame must 
be used so as to avoid drying the paper and spoiling the 
stones. In stones like onyx or others that are cemented 
in a box, it is best to remove them. The stones most 
susceptible to heat are the coral, turquoise, pearl, opal, 
then follow the amethyst, topaz, peridot, tourmaline, 
and others of about the same hardness. 

Speaking of tissue paper as a protection during heat- 
ing, the writer is reminded of some of the "secret" meth- 
ods employed by various workmen in protecting the 
stones and gives them here for what they are worth. 
One jeweler used to bring a potato every morning to set 
his work in for soldering. Another would mix up whit- 
ing and water and cover the stone. Still others swore by 
wet sand, yellow ochre, or plaster of Paris. Take two 
sheets of tissue paper, the older and more crinkly the 
better, fold up five or six times so as to make two strips 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 47 

about a foot long and an inch wide, well moisten with 
clear water to make a saturated mass, wrap around 
the stone, perhaps first packing in crevices and back of 
stone with small pellets. You can use this same paper 
and will have a dozen rings or other pieces done while 
the other fellow is puttering along with his potato or tur- 
nip, or paste pot. 

Some years ago we remember a very good workman 
who was struggling along trying to solder a five-stone 
opal follow or hoop ring. He had dug out a cavity in 
his charcoal block and filled it with whiting paste, then 
he had placed the ring too far in the mess and had pa- 
tiently shaped up a piece of charcoal to fit inside the 
ring. After about an hour and a half he reported to the 
foreman that the stones would have to come out, that it 
couldn't be soldered. Another man took the ring, cleaned 
off the whiting, put away the charcoal, wrapped around 
a strip of wet tissue paper, used a quick flame, and the 
job was done in ten minutes. On the other hand, dis- 
cretion is also a very valuable asset. A firm on Fifth 
avenue had to stand the loss of a Si, 500 pearl simply 
because the workman took a chance on sizing a lady's 
very small ring with the pearl in. How much saner it 
would have been to have had it removed, even at the 
cost of a new mounting. 

Diamond set work to be re-enameled should first have 
the stones removed. One is taking a risk otherwise, and, 
as said before, a dozen pieces may come through all 
right, while the next job, with perhaps a dozen or more 
stones in, will go to the bad and your profit is gone on 
the previous dozen jobs. In protecting the stones, if you 
should decide to take a chance, see that the boracic coat- 
ing is well dried and heated so that any bubbles or flakes 
will have been cleaned off before charging on the enamel. 

In soldering on new clamps or points on cluster or set 
rings where stones are left in, always cool gradually. 
Stones have been known to break by dropping onto a 
cold slab or metal while in a heated state. Any stone 
with flaws should never be put through the fire unless at 



48 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



the owner's risk. A good axiom to remember is that it 
is always better to talk about a thing two or three times 
before than once afterwards. And another thing, do 
not get into the soft soldering habit. If a customer 
brings in a job all plastered with lead tell her about it 
and estimate what it will cost to put it in first-class con- 
dition. She will probably have it done at some store 
eventually, as the fact of her bringing it to you has 
shown that it will not hold soft soldered. 

Hard solder your work, get your men used to remov- 
ing jewels and replacing them and they will take more 
pride in their work and themselves. You can stand back 
of your work and guarantee it. Soft solder is easily re- 
moved by first scraping off all you can, or heating care- 
fully and brushing or knocking off, then let stay in a 
solution of muriatic acid and water in proportion of 
about two of acid to one of water, until the solder is de- 
stroyed. Do not let it stay in longer than necessary, as 
low-grade gold is apt to get affected by the acid. 

There is nothing that will bring back the lustre or color 
to any of the semi-precious stones after being burnt, so 
bear in mind that an ounce of prevention is better than 
any amount of cure. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 49 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE PROCESS OF GILDING WITH ELECTRIC 
CURRENT. 
Preparation of Gold Chloride — Proper Manipulation of the 
Dynamo — Making Ready Solutions for Roman, Rose, 
Green, 14-Karat Gold, and Silver Plating — A Few Prac- 
tical Hints on the Care of Stock Solutions. 

NO solution, however carefully made, will be of any 
use unless the dynamo is regulated to the amount 
of work to be gilded. Get a dynamo that will 
give from one-half a volt up to six volts, also get a volt- 
meter and rheostat to raise or lower the current, and 
you are equipped for anything that a large jewelry 
factory calls for. A large water tank with a capacity of 
three crocks holding one gallon each and heated by a 
steam coil gives best results ; always keep tank filled up to 
within an inch of top of crocks and heated to 120° to 
150° F. From i to i>^ volts will be found enough cur- 
rent for small batches, Roman and silver plating, run- 
ning up to 3 and 4 volts for the other finishes ; the exact 
current strength, however, must be found out by actual 
experience, as strength of solutions will vary as used, on 
difference in temperature, etc., also in number of articles 
to be gilded. All work must be free from any dirt or 
grease and should be scratch- brushed with a fine brass 
brush on a rapidly revolving spindle, keeping article wet 
by allowing a solution of bran water to drip from a tank 
or can placed just above the brush. The bran water 
should be freshly made each day, and is made in i gallon 
lots by dissolving a couple of handfuls in an old salt bag, 
in boiling water, then squeeze out well and it is ready 
for use. 

To make the gold chloride take 20 pennyweights of 
chemically pure gold, which can be bought in ribbon 



50 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



form, or, if you have an old anode, roll it very thin and 
cut up into squares; then crinkle it so it will not lay flat, 
place in a flask with a long neck and mix a solution of 
four ounces chemically pure muriatic acid and two ounces 
of C. P. nitric acid; put all in flask and place on sand 
bath ; the gold will dissolve in a short time, but should be 
left on the sand bath until the solution evaporates down 
to almost a syrup; let cool and add one-half pint of dis- 
tilled water; let it evaporate again, then pour into a bowl 
containing about three quarts of water, stir well and add 
carefully liquid ammonia (at least 20 per cent) until all 
the gold is precipitated as a spongy mass in bottom of 
bowl; be careful not to add any more ammonia than is 
necessary. Now pour off liquid and wash the gold sev- 
eral times with boiling water until all odor of ammonia 
has disappeared, then wash once in cold water. 

A word of caution to the beginner is necessary at this 
point, as when the gold is thrown down by the ammonia 
it becomes fulminating gold and if allowed to become dry 
is a dangerous explosive. A little water should be left in 
bowl after each washing and after final cold water rins- 
ing. A solution of three ounces cyanide of potassium 
(C. P.) in one quart of water should at once be poured 
on gold and let stand over night; should all the gold not 
be dissolved, add a little more cyanide and water from time 
to time until solution is a clear golden color and all the 
gold is just dissolved. To get out any slight impurities, 
carbonates, etc., the solution should now be filtered, using 
filtering paper shaped to fit the glass funnel resting in a 
crock or earthen pitcher. We now have cyanide of 
gold ready to be used in the making of Roman, rose or 
English finish and green gold solution, and also to re- 
plenish with from time to time. 

To make a Roman solution, take one-quarter of your 
cyanide gold, place in gallon crock and fill up to within 
an inch of top with rain or distilled water, or water that 
has been boiled and allowed to cool may be used. Then 
mix 12 pennyweights phosphate of soda in a little water 
and add, stirring well. Use a C. P. gold anode, one 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 51 

about six by two inches, and the thickness of a twenty-five 
cent piece, raising or lowering this anode in the solution 
in proportion to the quantity of the work, usually getting 
the best results by having a little more anode surface. 
If, in the making of the cyanide of gold, you have used 
just enough cyanide potassium to dissolve the gold, it 
will be necessary, in the making of the gilding solution, 
to add one-half ounce of cyanide so as to have free cy- 
anide in the bath. 

Work after scratch-brushing should be dipped in a 
bowl of hot water, in which a few drops of ammonia or 
a small piece of caustic soda may be dropped. This is 
done to clean the work and also to heat it up to about the 
temperature of the gilding bath and is a point worth spe- 
cially remembering in gilding enamel work, as the sudden 
change from the cold bran water of the scratch-brush 
oftentimes causes the enamel to chip and fly off. The cur- 
rent should be allowed to circulate through the bath for 
a little while before using a new solution ; best results are 
secured on the following day. 

We are gilding, say, six brooches of the average size ; 
see that your copper wires are clean and well rubbed with 
emery paper; note the currerjt registers one volt; after 
scratch-brushing well and dipping in the hot water bowl, 
suspend in the bath by means of thin copper wire, — do 
not use iron wire, — let stay in about half a minute; re- 
move and scratch-brush well, hang in again for three- 
quarters of a minute, remove, scratch-brush and give a 
final dip of about a quarter of a minute, when work 
should be gilded. It is advisable to defer the final scratch- 
brushing until after the brooch has been set, pin tongue 
fastened in, etc. If gilding is too pale, there is either 
not enough gold in solution, too much free cyanide, or 
not enough current. If too dark, muddy or reddish, the 
bath is too hot, too rich in gold, too much current, or not 
enough cyanide of potassium. All the above will be 
found out by actual experience and can be remedied by 
following the hints given. 

The beautiful so-called "English" or "Guinea" finish 



52 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 



is obtained by highly polishing and rouging the work, 
then washing out in ammonia and soap water, well 
rinsing off, dipped in a rock potash bath and immediately 
into the regular Roman solution. If a quick dip is 
given, a rich yellow shade is imparted to the work. Cer- 
tain grades of work, like chains, shell links, etc., are also 
"Englished" by gilding in the regular way and placing 
in tubbing barrels which revolve laterally and are filled 
partly with a soapy solution and steel balls. 

A rose gold solution is prepared the same as the above, 
adding carbonate of copper previously dissolved in 
water and cyanide of potassium, a little at a time until 
the desired shade is secured. Use a current of three to 
five volts; the solution should be hotter than regular 
gilding bath, but not boiling. For rose finishing first 
gild, — two coats only, — then place in rose solution only 
long enough to get the shade wanted ; finish the work, then 
scratch-brush the back, dry in sawdust, and just before 
carding brush the raised parts lightly with a glass brush. 
A rose finish may also be obtained by using the regular 
gilding bath and running up the current, but this is an 
expensive method, as the gold is deposited heavily or 
"burnt" on, and the practice is not advised. 

It sometimes happens that in spite of the greatest care 
in the manipulation of the dynamo, baths, etc., the gild- 
ing is not satisfactory; in such an event, where, say, a 
cigar case or a large locket is not taking an even, rich 
color, place in a silver bath and then regild, when you 
will find a beautiful lustre will be the result. 

In the making of a green gold solution we use cyanide 
of silver in addition to the gold. To make this more care 
must be exercised than in preparing the gold, and is done 
as follows: 

Dissolve one ounce of fine silver (rolled thin and 
crinkled, as in gold) in an evaporating dish containing 
enough nitric acid (C. P.) and water in equal parts to 
cover it. If not all dissolved, add a little more acid and 
water until just dissolved, avoiding an excess of acid. 
Evaporate cautiously to dryness to expel the acid and 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. . 53 



dissolve the powder (silver nitrate) in a quart of dis- 
tilled water. Now dissolve 15 pennyweights of cyanide 
of potassium in about six ounces distilled water and add 
in small portions to the silver nitrate solution with brisk 
stirring; let stand until a precipitate ceases to form in the 
clear liquid. If too much cyanide is added, some of the 
silver will be redissolved. Pour off the liquid and wash 
the precipitate several times with water. Dissolve 25 
pennyweights of cyanide of potassium in six ounces of 
water and pour on the silver gradually, stirring well with 
a glass rod until about half of the solution has been 
poured; let stand for 12 hours, stirring occasionally, if 
silver is not all dissolved; add the solution a little at a 
time until nearly all the silver is taken up, then put in 
a glass-stoppered bottle and place in a dark closet, ready 
for use in the making up of silver plating solutions and 
in green gold baths. 

A green gold bath is made by taking a regular gilding 
bath and adding the silver cyanide carefully until a green 
shade is reached. It is well to take some old silver or 
metal pins and practice on them; when you get a rich, 
deep green, lacquer it and keep for comparison from 
time to time. If you get too much silver cyanide in the 
bath the gilding will come out pale and eventually white, 
so that more gold cyanide must be added. Use a green 
gold anode, 20 parts fine gold and 5 parts silver. A 
rich green is also obtained on a single article by first 
silver plating it and then suspending it in the regular 
Roman bath; touch the current copper rod and remove 
instantly. 

To get the dark green shade or "smut," take 12 
pennyweights of powdered white arsenic, mix in a little 
water to form a paste, then boil in an enameled iron pan 
with one-half pint of water and one ounce of cyanide of 
potassium; let cool and add this arsenic solution very 
carefully, not more than a teaspoonful at first, and later 
drop by drop, until at a current of three volts a deep, 
dark shade shows. More arsenic niakes work black, and 
upon relieving the high lights shows a pale, lifeless green. 



54 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



In this case it is generally better to make a new solution. 
If at three volts a dark smut is showing and it is desired 
to get a still deeper black, the current may be run up to 
tPiree and one-half or four volts. Do not leave work in 
longer than necessary to get the shade, then plunge at 
once into boiling water, dip in alcohol, let dry, or ignite 
and burn off the alcohol, relieving the high parts last, as 
in rose finishing. 

A silver solution is made by taking half of the silver 
cyanide, put in a gallon crock filled with water, add one 
ounce of cyanide of potassium and stir well. The solu- 
tion may be used hot or cold, using more current in case 
of cold. If color is yellow, add a little more cyanide. 
Use fine silver anode. 

To make a 14-karat solution, add to a regular gilding 
bath the carbonate of copper solution, testing from time 
to time, until, after burnishing the article with a blood- 
stone burnisher and rouging, the color matches a solid 
14-karat piece. A little silver cyanide may also be added. 
The amount of copper to be added is regulated by cur- 
rent strength and other conditions, which can only be de- 
termined by experience. 

In the amounts of "free" cyanide given, the propor- 
tions are a little under, as it is an easy matter to add more. 
All solutions should be filtered once a month and fresh 
cyanides of gold or silver added in small quantities from 
time to time to keep baths from becoming impoverished. 
Remove anodes when through gilding, as the cyanide will 
dissolve them. A little phosphate of soda should be 
added occasionally to tone up the baths. Solutions not 
in use every day should be kept in glass-stoppered bottles. 
All solutions containing gold should, after they have 
been run for some months, or are spoiled, be poured into 
a large crock, and when there is sufficient quantity, say 
ten or fifteen gallons, the gold may be recovered and 
melted in with the refinings. The latest and most eco- 
nomical process for the recovery of old gold and silver 
from solutions will be taken up in another chapter. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 55 



CHAPTER XIII. 



RED GILDING. 

The Proper Bath — Strength of Current — The Best Anode — 
Dynamo vs. Batteries — Preparation of the Work — Avoid 
Excess of Free Cyanide — Copper Cyanide Solution — To 
Preserve Goods from Tarnish. 

TO get a good red color copper must be added to the 
gold bath. This is best done by first dissolving 
carbonate of copper in water in which a small 
piece of cyanide of potassium has been dissolved. The 
amount of this cyanide of copper solution to be added to 
the bath is, of course, determined by the size of bath, 
amount of gold it contains, current strength used, etc. 

In all events, add copper carefully, a little at a time, 
until the deposit shows red. For red gilding, the bath 
should be somewhat hotter than for yellow or Roman, 
although not boiling; the current is increased to about 
three volts. A 14-karat anode is the best to use, and 
is made of 14 parts of fine gold to 10 parts pure copper 
shot. Some platers prefer to use a lo-karat anode, and 
still others use platinum or copper anodes. To have a 
permanent even bath, however, and to deposit a red 
that will not tarnish quickly, an anode of not less than 
14-karat should be used. In the case of the lo-karat 
and copper anodes there is constant danger of getting too 
much copper in the bath, and with the platinum anode it 
is a matter of frequent replenishing of the solution. The 
regular pure gold anode is also sometimes used, and in 
this case, with the stronger current especially, you are 
"burning" up considerable fine gold. 

All this would be found out very quickly if large lots 
of work were being constantly put through the plating 
room. Now the deposition of gold and copper in solu- 
tion upon metal articles is more difficult than where only 



56 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



one metal is to be deposited. It is a matter of having 
just enough of ea^h metal so that with a sufficiently 
strong current, right amount of free cyanide, good hot 
bath, and goods to be plated absolutely clean, both metals 
will be deposited in the proper proportion. 

To get best results, a dynamo with a voltmeter regis- 
tering six volts should be used. Cell batteries or ready- 
made gilding outfits supplied to the trade, are makeshifts 
and are always unsatisfactory in the long run. You 
must have an indicator to show you that when you have 
"shoved" up the current, it has been increased, and also 
exactly how much. A voltmeter is the only thing that 
does this, and saves guesswork. 

Work should be scratch-brushed with a steel brush, 
using bran and water. In the baser metals, especially 
oreide or brass, the work should be first dipped in a hot 
potash solution, scratch-brushed, then dipped (after 
stringing on clean copper wire) into a bowl of hot water 
with a few drops of ammonia, and placed in the bath. 
Leave in only for a few seconds for the first dip, then re- 
move, rinse, and scratch-brush with a fine brass brush. 
If some of the parts are not covered, rebrush with the 
steel. The article must be thoroughly coated before pro- 
ceeding with a second and longer dip. 

If a good, durable "plate" is desired the second im- 
mersion should be of at least a minute, gently keeping 
in motion while in the bath, and turning so as to present 
all sides to the anode, in order to secure an even deposit. 
Articles should then be burnished with a bloodstone, or a 
highly polished steel or agate burnisher. Heavy de- 
posits are secured by extra dips, scratch-brushing and 
burnishing after each dip. In order to know amount of 
gold being deposited weigh the article carefully before 
starting. If, no matter what you do, the color is pale, 
it indicates too much free cyanide or not enough current ; 
if muddy, the current is too strong, there is not enough 
free cyanide in the bath, or the solution is impoverished 
and needs more gold. 

Where there is too much free cyanide the gold is rap- 



HOiV TX) MAKE JEWELRY. 57 



idly dissolved from the cathode as soon as it is covered, 
and until there is enough gold eaten off the anode to bal- 
ance the bath, the metal of which the article is made is 
also being dissolved and there is danger of spoiling the 
solution. This, of course, is particularly true where the 
baser metals are being plated. A good plan is to take a 
piece of highly polished 14-karat plate and match the 
gilded piece. When, after burnishing, the shade is the 
same, keep it for future reference. 

Remember the redder it is the more copper, and conse- 
quently the lower the alloy. In making the cyanide of 
copper solution get about half a pound of copper, place it 
in about a quart of water which has been previously 
boiled and cooled. Add small pieces of cyanide of potas- 
sium from day to day, until all the copper is dissolved 
and a clear liquor shows. More or less cyanide could 
be used, but you would not know just where you were at. 
The principal thing in gilding or plating is to get a good 
deposit with just as little free cyanide as possible. A lit- 
tle more can always be added ; in fact, it is a good thing 
where a quantity of work is done daily, to add a small 
piece each morning. In new solutions the current should 
be run for a little while before commencing to work 
with it. When you have once secured a good solution do 
not use it for any other purpose. Keep in glass-stoppered 
bottle when not in use. This solution can be safely used 
for a rose finish after goods have first been gilded in the 
regular Roman bath. 

All solutions that have been worked daily should be 
filtered a.t least once a month, and oftener where work 
is of a mixed nature, presenting more opportunities for 
the introduction of foreign matter, sand, dirt, etc. Get 
good quality filtering paper and a large glass funnel, twist 
up paper to fit snugly, adding a few pieces to the opening 
of the funnel stem, as the weight of the liquid may force 
the paper through otherwise. Let filter into a thoroughly 
clear vessel — a large pitcher does very well. The paper 
should be kept and burned up eventually with the shop 
sweeps. A solution properly kept will run from four to 



58 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

six months before becoming played out. It is^then 
poured into a crock, in which may be kept any cyanide 
solutions, for the subsequent precipitation and recovery 
of the gold and silver. It is a good idea to so regulate 
the making of solutions that new ones are made after 
Christmas and during the summer vacation. 

There is nothing that will prevent goods from eventu- 
ally becoming tarnished in the showcases. This is due to 
the vapors (mostly sulphur) that generate and readily 
attack silver and also plated jewelry, and even solid gold 
articles after a time. Gum camphor will, in a measure, 
neutralize the poison of these oxidizing gases; a piece of 
magnesia will also absorb some of the impurities. A 
solution of chloride of lime placed in the cases each night 
will prolong the subsequent recleaning of the stock. Tar- 
nished silverware may readily be renewed by dipping in 
a crock containing water and a few pieces of cyanide of 
potassium. Rinse and dry in boxwood sawdust and 
bring up the lustre by holding against dry cotton buff on 
rapidly revolving polishing lathe. Colored or matt finish 
gold goods may be cleaned by dipping in bicarbonate of 
soda, 2 ounces, with about an ounce each of chloride of 
lime and table salt in one pint of water. 

In using cyanide of potassium remember it is a deadly 
poison, and always label any vessels containing it as such. 

Polished gold jewelry is touched up on the rouge 
brushes and buffs. Work with half-pearls in — first 
cover the pearls with a paste of powdered magnesia and 
water and let dry. This keeps pearls white and prevents 
the polishing rouge from getting under the stones. This 
paste could also be used on any article where it is not 
desirable to have rouge come in contact. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 59 



CHAPTER XIV. 



RESISTS FOR TWO-COLOR WORK. 

Acetate of Amyl and Celluloid Solution the Most Satisfac- 
tory — How It is Prepared — Protection of Parts in Bright 
Polishing — To Remove the Resists — Pegging on Parts — 
Bronze Powders. 

TO protect parts of lockets or other jewelry, before 
immersing in Roman or other gilding solutions, 
first gently warm the article over an alcohol lamp 
(do not get it hot), then paint with a small camel's hair 
brush dipped in a solution of acetate of amyl and cellu- 
loid. The amyl acetate may be purchased at any drug- 
gist's; the celluloid is added, a little at a time, left over 
night, and more added from time to time, until the 
solution is of the consistency of a fairly thick lacquer. I 
would suggest using the plain yellow celluloid — a 
couple of combs may be purchased in any department 
store. 

This lacquer should be applied by going over once only 
with the brush, letting it dry thoroughly, then giving it 
another coat and letting dry. If the article is kept just 
warm it will greatly facilitate the drying. When dry the 
lacquer is colorless and transparent, though it is some- 
times desirable to have it colored so as to enable one to 
see where the stop line is. For this purpose a Httle finely 
powdered rouge is well mixed in. This "resist" is kept 
in a well-stoppered glass bottle, a few ounces lasting a 
long time. 

This solution will stand up longer in a cyanide of 
potassium solution than any others the writer has tried, 
yet it is not advisable to keep articles in the bath longer 
than absolutely necessary. When possible, work with 
cold or lukewarm gilding solutions. As is known, cyanide 
of potassium is a most deadly destroying agent, and if 



6o HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



the article to be given a Roman or other dip be left in any 
length of time the lacquer will be attacked and conse- 
quently the exposed parts will also be gilded. In the 
case of a Roman color the bath may be worked cold ; for 
rose or green gilding the solution must be hot. Get it 
working exactly right before putting in the "resist" 
covered pieces. 

Other work is finished bright in certain sections by 
first giving the jewelry a Roman dip and then polishing 
away the color so as to expose the bright gold underneath. 
The gilded parts in this case are protected in some 
instances by painting over with gamboge and water or a 
paste of powdered magnesia and water, or, where feas- 
ible, a brass foil is struck up in the same die that the 
article was raised in, and the parts to be bright sawn out. 
This brass is then fitted over, acting as a protection to 
the gilded parts. Of course, all lapped or raised parts 
may be polished bright after gilding without the aid of 
any of the above-mentioned protecting agents, and in the 
hands of skillful and experienced polishers some very 
quick finishes are given. To get the lacquer off after 
gilding, let the article stay for a short time in a steaming 
hot solution of caustic potash, or a lye dip will do. 

Another resist is the ordinary lacquer used for silver 
work; another is asphaltum dissolved with a little bees- 
wax in turpentine. This last is removed after gilding by 
immersing in benzine. Still another resist is the ordi- 
nary shellac varnish made by dissolving pure amber col- 
ored flake shellac in wood alcohol and applying with a 
brush. You will find, however, that the solution first 
mentioned will give best results for all kinds of work. 

In gilding work where two or more finishes or colors 
show on the same piece, always use the strongest or most 
difficult solution first, as in the case of, say, a locket 
which has a green colored section or background with a 
Roman colored face. First green finish the proper or 
desired shade, dry well and apply the lacquer resist; the 
yellow dip may now be easily applied in a comparatively 
cold solution. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 6i 



In expensive platinum and gold goods it is sometimes 
advisable that certain parts be finished and pegged on 
after gilding. These pieces are usually fastened on by 
means of soft gold hollow wires. These hollow wires, 
after passing through the main section of the piece, are 
held by carefully burnishing, or spreading the ends. 

Bronze powders dusted on, are still used in cheap jew- 
elry. These powders may be bought from the jewelers* 
material houses and come in every color and shade. 



62 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XV. 



ACID COLORING. 

An Old-Time Finish still Used in Special Cases — Difficulties 
of the Process — Etruscan Work and Gold Bead Necks 
Best Finished in This Way — Details of the Work — Some 
Good Formulas — ^Tricks of the Trade. 

THE acid color finish of gold jewelry is not applied 
as much as it was some twenty or more years ago. 
In some respects this process of coloring is not 
practical. Most of the old-timers can remember the 
trouble connected with the resizing of acid colored rings 
and the refinishing thereof, or the "chipping" away of 
the color in setting or engraving. Likewise the repairing 
and recoloring of brooches or other jewelry. Briefly 
stated, the ingredients of the mixture employed in this 
process have a powerful solvent action on the base metal 
with which the gold is alloyed, and a weaker action on 
the gold itself, so that the base metal is dissolved from 
the surface, leaving the fine gold thereon. This fine 
gold surface will, in time, become scratched, or a repair 
necessitating soldering is needed with a subsequent re- 
coloring. 

To properly recolor the article, it should first be finely 
smoothed off with emery paper so that the original alloy 
surface is reached. The fine gold being removed, the 
copper coating is exposed, and this being also taken off, 
the alloy will be seen. By alloy we mean the karat qual- 
ity gold of which the article is made. Now all this means 
a reducing of thickness and a consequent weakening of 
the piece, and a second recoloring would probably en- 
tirely spoil it. In soldering acid colored work it is best 
done by painting entire piece with borax and water, sol- 
dering with an easy, flowing solder and recoloring in reg- 
ular gilding solution. Sometimes a strong current is 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 63 



needed to force a deposit of fine gold on acid colored 
jewelry. Another difficulty encountered in the attempt 
to recolor old jewelry by the acid method is the lack of 
knowledge of proportions of silver and copper in the 
gold, the maker of the article in question knowing, of 
course, his alloy, uses more or less acid in proportion to 
amount of silver used. 

Certain styles of goods, however, can be brought to the 
highest state of perfection only in this way, and to-day 
makers of these lines of jewelry use the acid color finish. 
Especially in the case of Etruscan work is the acid dip 
necessary to make the trimming — be it shots, twist wire, 
plain or fancy wire — stand out clean and sharp from the 
background. Plain gold bead necklaces are best finished 
in acid color, as the color is more lasting, the electro- 
gilding being apt to rub off or become dimmed from con- 
tinued contact with the skin. Another good point is that 
the maker of acid colored goods is giving a plump, solid 
alloy; it wouldn't stand the acid if otherwise, and in the 
case of the afore-mentioned beads, there is a tendency 
sometimes to use a plated stock in order to facilitate the 
getting out of the bead. 

This base metal is supposed to be entirely eaten away 
by acid before making into necklaces or other jewelry. 
The lace work made out of screw wire rolled flat and 
bent into various patterns is greatly enhanced by the acid 
finish, the cutting of the screw being sharpened and 
given a finer and richer look. 

Gold to be used in acid color work should be largely 
alloyed with copper; red gold will color better than the 
pale. The excess of silver in alloys renders the subse- 
quent color pale, and while more muriatic acid is used, 
yet it were better to avoid all this by using as red an al- 
loy as possible. A good 14-karat alloy consists of fine 
gold, 14 parts; silver, 3 parts, and copper, 7 parts. If 
this should be found too soft, a harder alloy may be made 
by using 4 parts of silver to 6 of copper. 

In acid coloring goods of a lower quality than 14- 
karat it is absolutely necessary that the alloy should 



64 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



largely be of copper and the solution an old coloring 14- 
karat mixture, in which a quantity of work of that karat 
has been acid colored. The reason is that the base metal 
would be attacked to such an extent as to weaken or de- 
stroy the goods before a desirable color had been at- 
tained. As before remarked, the gold is also slightly at- 
tacked in 14-karat work, so that old 14-karat solutions 
contain more or less gold. It being a well-known fact 
that copper is electro-positive to a gold solution, the lat- 
ter is deposited on the former upon immersion, the color- 
ing of the low-grade work hastened and the loss in weight 
reduced to a minimum thereby. 

Acid coloring was originally done with plumbago or 
black lead crucibles, or sand crucibles, and sometimes 
even a thick porcelain cup or bowl has sufficed. All this 
was superseded by the platinum vessel, this last being the 
cleanest and safest method of mixing and holding the 
color. Platinum, at the. time of its introduction in this 
line, about thirty-five years ago, was $6 an ounce, and a 
30-ounce color pot was not considered expensive. At 
this writing, with the same metal soaring around $100 to 
$105 per ounce, it is more practical to hark back to the 
lead crucible, although one may have nickel pots with a 
platinum lining made. With care, the lead or sand cru- 
cibles will give as good satisfaction. 

To get bright, snappy results in acid color work, the 
article should be polished. Where this is not feasible the 
piece, as in Etruscan work, should be smoothed with 
finest emery paper before soldering on the trimming. 
Work should be well boiled out in pickle after last soldering 
and all acid or pickle gotten out of hollow work by hold- 
ing over an alcohol lamp. Work is then tied in small 
bunches with silver or platinum wire, handled as little as 
possible and annealed black; this is best elTected in an 
enameling furnace, or the ordinary gas furnace will do, 
being careful that no foreign substance gets on the work. 

There are all proportions of formulas on the market; 
the following is recommended: Saltpetre, 12 ounces, 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 65 



salt (table), 6 ounces, muriatic acid, from 3 to 5 ounces, 
in proportion to silver in alloy. 

The first two items are well pounded in a mortar and 
placed in a lead crucible which has been previously 
warmed ; stir well with a piece of hard wood or a wooden 
spoon for a minute or two. Then add acid in about one 
ounce of boiling water, the mass being constantly stirred 
until it boils to the top of the pot. The heating is best 
done over a gas burner placed in a forge or under some 
good flue arrangement to carry off the fumes. The gas 
is recommended, as it can be better regulated than other 
methods of heating. 

The pot should not be less than 8 inches high and of 
good breadth. As acid boils up, place in the work, which 
has been first dipped in boiling water and well shaken be- 
fore dipping. Keep work moving, but avoid touching 
sides of the pot. After about three minutes remove and 
plunge in boiling water, then into a second vessel of the 
same. Then add to your color in the pot 6 fluid ounces 
of hot water and when it boils up again, immerse work 
one minute, rinse as before, and if color does not suit, re- 
peat the operation, adding more hot water to the color 
pot each time, finally rinsing in clean hot water and im- 
mediately putting in warm, clean boxwood sawdust. 

This amount of color is for 6 ounces of work of a fa'irly 
compact nature. If the goods are spready, as hollow 
wire work, not as much as 6 ounces should be put in, and 
in solid, heavy work, like chain, more than 6 ounces can 
be colored. 

Manufacturers making acid colored jewelry have little 
pet secrets for getting fine rich finishes, and, of course, 
continual coloring affords them opportunities to get on 
to little "tricks." One method is to boil for a few sec- 
onds in the liquid only of the solution after work has 
been scratch-brushed. Another is, during last dip add a 
teaspoonful of finely powdered alum to the coloring salts. 
If a deep orange tint is desired, a teaspoonful of sal am- 
moniac instead of alum will do it. The acid in hollow 
work, after drying in sawdust, should be killed by dip- 



66 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



ping the goods in a dilute solution of ammonia water. 
The work is then scratch-brushed, using a fine brass 
brush, kept for this purpose, and moistened with clean 
bran water. Some colorers put a few drops of muriatic 
acid into first rinsing vessel. It is well to work with as 
little acid as possible. 

A better color is usually gotten on bright, clear days, 
and when the wind is anywhere but in the east. Work 
should not be immersed longer than enough to get a good 
bright color ; avoid handling, or a spot will show ; always 
thoroughly dry in sawdust before brushing. The begin- 
ner is advised not to attempt any "tones" in finishes until 
he is somewhat experienced. 

A fine, bright yellow will show if first directions are 
carefully followed. The muriatic acid must be chem- 
ically pure and kept in glass-stoppered bottle. The satin 
effect, as on beads or plain gold pins, etc., is obtained by 
sanding evenly all over before annealing. The subse- 
quent final scratch-brushing must be done very lightly. 
The solders should be of the highest possible karat qual- 
ity, it not being advisable to use lower than Q-karat sol- 
der for 14-karat work, although 8-karat is sometimes 
used to solder on back parts, joint, catch, etc. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 67 



CHAPTER XVI. 



PRECAUTIONS IN THE COLORING ROOM. 
Proper Equipment is Real Economy — Not All Colorers 
Realize Dangers — Strong Draft Necessary to Carry off 
Fumes — Handling Fulminating Gold — Keep Acids in 
Locked Room — Antidotes for Cyanide Poisoning — For 
Poisoning by Other Acids or by Alkalies. 

IT is a subject of deepest concern that many jewelry 
manufacturers are absolutely indifferent in the mat- 
ter of equipping their coloring rooms with proper 
appliances and apparatus for the drawing off of the 
acid fumes. To the disinterested person this must 
seem, to say the least, foolish on the part of the em- 
ployer, as well-trained, experienced colorers and gilders 
are hard to replace when one is finally incapacitated from 
inhaling- the cyanide fumes or those of other acids. The 
writer, in the course of some twenty-five years, has been 
in some of the largest fine gold houses in New York and 
vicinity, and in nearly every instance has found the 
tank, with the various crocks of solutions, steaming so 
that the vapors are being constantly inhaled by the work 
people. Men and women have been forced to give up 
positions because of their health being impaired. 

Now, this is all wrong and unnecessary. Of course, it 
is more or less understood that the gilder is familiar with 
the poisonous nature of his solutions, and if he is willing 
to take the job, why, it is "up to him," yet it is a regret- 
table fact that most of these colorers, both men and 
women, are not thoroughly posted as, to the deadly con- 
tents of their crocks and oftentimes get careless. In a 
good many cases the formulas are compounded in the 
factory office by the superintendent or foreman. 

The gilding should be done in a room or a part of the 
factory where a hood is placed over the tank containing 



68 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



the crocks of solutions. If there is not enough draft 
through the pipe leading from the hood, attach a pipe 
from the blower so there is a forced draft. In other 
words, see that there is enough suction to carry up small 
pieces of paper. The gilder should be impressed as to 
the danger of getting any of the solution in the eyes, or 
in cuts or scratches, or, in fact, on the person at all. A 
bottle of rose water kept conveniently at hand is excellent 
as a neutralizer, especially in getting in the eyes, and a 
little rubbed on the hands after each day's work will keep 
the hands and arms clear from nasty red spots. This is 
but a trifling expense, and the little thought on the part 
of the employer in this respect is appreciated by the 
average workman. Clean, cold water should always be 
kept at hand, the colder the better. Do not use hot 
water, for the reason that the cyanide will be given fresh 
impetus for damage before it is eventually dissolved in 
the water. Should one be overcome by the fumes, rush 
at once to an open window, apply ammonia to the nos- 
trils and send for a doctor. 

As one gilder puts it, whose book on gilding the writer 
has read with great interest, "Once a gilder, always a 
gilder." There is a fascination about it that appeals to a 
great many, but it is pitiful to see those who have been at 
it a number of years made physical wrecks simply from 
lack of a little decent consideration. The offices are usu- 
ally fitted up with all the latest appliances in the way of 
window ventilators, fans, air shafts, etc., and yet there 
is a fearful yelp if the request is made for a comparatively 
inexpensive blower to carry off deadly fumes that are 
endangering the health of a number of people daily. 

Every once in a while we read of an explosion in the 
coloring room from fulminating gold. In this case it is 
nearly always carelessness of the man whose duty it is to 
make the solutions. Fulminating gold is the fine powder 
precipitated by ammonia from gold dissolved in aqua 
regia. Pour off the liquid carefully, so as not to dis- 
turb the gold, and fill up with boiling water at once, 
repeat with several washings, until there is no odor of 



flow TO MAKE JEWELRY. 69 



ammonia, then wash once with clean, cold water and 
immediately make into cyanide of gold solution, as de- 
scribed in preceding chapters. Now the point to keep 
in mind is that under no circumstances should the gold 
be allowed to get dry; even the little on the edge of the 
bowl should be brushed back into the bowl with a wet 
brush. Always leave a little water in bowl after each 
washing. Better be over zealous, seemingly, on the 
safe side. Only a short time since a man was serit)usly 
injured by removing the lid of a crock containing ful- 
minating gold. It appears it had been left over night 
and some of the gold had dried on the lid. 

The refining, or acid coloring, or the dissolving of gold 
or silver in acids, should be done in a place by itself, or 
a room separated from the factory. If not done out of 
doors there should be a large forge place or big chimney, 
large enough to place the vessel right in. The men should 
be carefully cautioned not to inhale any of the fumes, and 
in the pouring of acids from carboys into bottles, to be 
absolutely sure that the bottle is first empty and rinsed 
out. The room containing the acids should always be 
locked, and entered only by careful and trustworthy em- 
ployees. Long association always has a tendency to make 
people careless. One man had been working in the roll- 
ing mills so long that he thought they wouldn't hurt 
him, and one day three of his fingers were taken off as a 
result. It is pretty often so in handling acids, and the 
foreman cannot keep too sharp a watch during any pro- 
cess involving the use of them. Of course, accidents will 
happen, but a large number of them could be prevented. 
Always remember to have plenty of cold water handy, 
get to the pure air, and as an antidote give a few drops 
of ammonia, besides allowing the person overcome to 
inhale it also. 

Referring again to the cyanide of potassium used in 
gilding solutions it is worthy of note that five grains, or a 
quantity about as large as a pea, is sufficient to kill a 
strong man. There have been cases known where peo- 
ple have been killed from simply inhaling the fumes. 



70 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY^ 

If any solution containing cyanide is swallowed, cold 
water should be run on the head and spine, and a dilute 
solution of iron acetate, citrate or tartrate administered. 
If hydrocyanic acid' vapors have been inhaled, water is 
applied as above and atmospheric air containing a little 
chlorine gas should be inhaled. Another remedy for cy- 
anide of potassium getting in cuts is to well rub with 
olive oil and lime water after first washing in cold water. 
For poisoning by alkalies — caustic soda, potash, etc. — take 
weak solutions of sulphuric or nitric acid, a few drops in 
water only, or vinegar or lemonade; after about ten min- 
utes take a few teaspoonfuls of olive oil. In poisoning by 
nitric, muriatic, or sulphuric acids, drink plenty of tepid 
water, or swallow milk, whites of eggs, calcined mag- 
nesia, or chalk and water; if these acids are spilled on 
skin, apply whiting and olive oil. Weak solutions, as be- 
fore said, may be washed off with plenty of cold water. 

In concluding this chapter, the writer begs to impress 
upon the gilder the necessity of caution in handling the 
solutions; keep the lids on crocks not actually in work. 
Rinse hands and arms and face frequently in clear cold 
water; use rose water often; get fresh air from an open 
window as much as possible, and if you find your health 
is suffering, give up the job at once, before you get too 
old to start at something else. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 71 



CHAPTER XVII. 



SILVER AND ITS ALLOYS FOR JEWELRY WORK. 
The Use of Silver in Filigree and Enamel Work — Qualities 
of Copper and Zinc as Alloys — Melting Over Causes 
Brittleness — Refining of Scraps — How^ the Metal Should 
be Melted — Formulas for Various Purposes — A Metal 
Capable of Many Finishes — Tests for Silver. 

PURE, or fine silver, by reason of its softness, is 
used chiefly in the making of fihgree and lace 
work. In enamel jewelry, where stiffening pieces 
of sterling silver or a baser alloy are soldered on, it is 
sometimes advantageous to use fine silver as the back- 
ground for the enamel. This will insure better results 
in lustre and lessen danger of chipping the enamel in 
subsequent finishes. All goods stamped sterling should 
be 925-1000 fine, or, in other words, 925 parts fine silver 
and 75 parts of alloy. It has been found, however, that 
for some purposes the sterling silver is too soft, and the 
proportions have been changed, even to the extent of 
using 200 parts alloy and 800 parts of fine silver. In 
this case it is best to use fine silver in parts of the article so 
as to make it assay sterling. Silver is much more ductile 
than alloyed gold and costs less in raising in dies, there 
being practically no "spring" in annealed sterling silver. 
In alloying silver, copper is extensively used, the chief 
reasons being that the latter metal has about the same 
characteristics as silver, melting at about 100° F. 
higher, is a soft, malleable metal and mixes well. Its 
great objection is that it oxidizes, and to-day certain 
manufacturers are using zinc, cadmium, bismuth, nickel, 
etc., in place of it. Great care must be exercised when 
zinc is used, as it volatilizes and burns out; in using it as, 
the alloy the silver is first melted under a good coating 
of powdered willow charcoal; the zinc, which must be 



72 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

chemically pure and rolled out thin, is added by poking 
it quickly in under the charcoal, then pouring as rapidly 
as possible. It is best to add a few extra grains of zinc 
to allow for loss by volatilization. 

Sterling silver, no matter what alloy is used, should 
never be melted more than two or three times, as the al- 
loys burn out, oxides form, and the silver becomes, al- 
though a better quality than sterling, hard and brittle and 
is useless for stamping or working. Add new silver with 
proper amount of alloy to your sterling scraps, or where 
it is not desirable to get out more silver, collect all the 
scraps, filings and old silver, run it down in a crucible, 
granulate and dissolve in C. P. nitric acid to which has 
been added an equal quantity of water. This is best done 
by using an evaporating dish in a sand bath over a gas 
burner. Add the acid and water carefully; if the action 
gets too violent and threatens to spill over, add cold 
water and turn off gas. When silver is all dissolved pour 
into a large crock nearly filled with water, and throw in 
a few handfuls of salt (table salt). This will precipi- 
tate the silver as a chloride. Let it stand over night, 
pour off "liquid, well wash the precipitate with several 
changes of hot and finally with cold water ; then metallize 
by dropping in a couple of pieces of sheet iron and pour- 
ing in a solution of one part commercial sulphuric acid 
to nine parts water. Stir well occasionally, and in a 
couple of days the silver will have turned black. This is 
now thoroughly washed to remove all traces of the acid, 
placed in an iron pot over a fire and dried. It is then 
mixed with flux (20th century is excellent), using about 
one-quarter by weight to three-quarters silver. Melt in 
a large sand crucible, let it cool, lift out of furnace and 
when cold break; a button of fine silver will be found in 
the bottom. This rnay be remelted in a regular black 
lead crucible and cast in ingot or granulated, as desired, 
and is ready for alloying. 

If the various processes are carefully carried out, the 
silver should be bright and shiny and easily bent. Some 
manufacturers who keep silver constantly on hand, using 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 73 

it for refining only, melt and granulate as it comes from 
the metallizing crock. This does not purify it, the silver 
showing a dirty, dull white, and as it is used over and 
over again, it is obvious it is gradually absorbing more 
and more traces of other metals. The flux will burn 
everything foreign out of the silver that may have es- 
caped the nitric acid bath. 

Silver is not an easy metal to melt as it has the faculty 
of absorbing oxygen, causing "spitting" and resultant 
blisters after cooling. It should always be melted under 
a. good layer of charcoal powder, and should not be 
poured too hot; when ready, pour as quickly as possible. 
In the working of silver do not anneal your work too hot. 
Many a good bar of silver has been condemned as "no 
good," "blistery," etc., when it has been the fault of the 
workman letting the silver pieces, in process of raising, 
stay too long in the annealing furnace, thus overheating 
the work, the air getting in and bringing up a surface of 
minute blisters. As soon as a dull red shows, turn off gas 
and let cool. 

In melting silver with alloys of a higher temperature, 
it is a good rule to always put in alloys first and well 
cover with the silver. This will help prevent oxidiza- 
tion. Always stir well, using a heated iron rod, and make 
sure that the alloys are melted as well as the silver. 
Where nickel is used, roll out very thin, anneal and crin- 
kle up before putting in crucible. 

An excellent formula for sterling silver for general 
work and enameling is, fine silver, 185 pennyweights; 
copper, 15 pennyweights. A hard silver (not sterling, of 
course) is made of fine silver, 100 pennyweights, copper, 
25 pennyweights. The copper used in all alloys must 
be the very best, either purified shot copper or wire. 
Some manufacturers find the wire best in all cases. In 
any event the wire is best in making solders. A hard 
silver, suitable for snaps and stiffening parts is made of 
21 parts fine silver and 2 parts nickel. 

A very hard silver solder for sterling silver: Fine sil- 
ver, 80 pennyweights; copper wire, 20 pennyweights; 



74 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



brass, 5 pennyweights; add brass after the others are 
melted. Another good solder, running a little easier than 
the above and suitable for work not to be enameled, is: 
Fine silver, 76>^ pennyweights; copper wire, 28>^ penny- 
weights; adding 2 to 3 pennyweights of pure zinc just be- 
fore pouring. Medium silver solder: Fine silver, 26 pen- 
nyweights; copper wire, 15 pennyweights, adding about 
15 to 18 grains zinc as above. A very easy solder for 
repairing is: Fine silver, 40 pennyweights; brass, 20 
pennyweights, adding brass after silver is melted. A 
point to keep in mind is to always use best solder possible. 
The cost is trivial and the results are much better. All 
alloys tarnish and blacken as well as the silver itself, but 
the less zinc used the better will be the quality of the 
work, and in future repairs it is not so Hkely to burn 
out or "rot" in subsequent solderings. 

The cost of platinum has caused a number of jewelers 
to experiment with alloys of platinum and silver, and 
while as high as 33>^ per cent of platinum will com- 
bine with silver, yet it is not safe or advisable for the av- 
erage jeweler to attempt to melt more than 20 per cent 
platinum and 80 per cent silver. The reason of this is 
that a greater quantity of platinum is exceedingly diffi- 
cult to melt without running the risk of losing silver by 
volatilization. An alloy of 80 pennyweights fine silver 
and 20 pennyweights soft platinum can be melted in the 
regular furnace by an experienced melter. 

Silver lends itself to more finishes than any other of 
the precious metals, usually showing a much brighter 
Roman, rose, or green than does gold. For this reason a 
deposit of silver is sometimes given to a solid gold article 
as a preliminary to the final gilding. The French jewel- 
ers to-day use silver as mountings for diamond paved 
brooches, sunbursts, animals, birds, etc., backing up the 
settings with i8-karat gold. These pins as new are very 
beautiful, the silver taking a mirror-like bright cut in the 
hands of the skilled stone setter, but in a short time they 
are tarnished and necessitate frequent visits to the jew- 
eler for cleaning. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 75 



Reverting again to silver solders, it is not good policy 
to make solders out of scrap pieces of sterling or other 
silver, adding the copper, brass, or zinc, etc., as, while the 
solder may flow all right, yet it is usually brittle by rea- 
son of the sterling silver having probably been melted 
two or three times, as before mentioned. It pays in the 
long run to use pure silver in making up all solders. In 
melting of silver a very little borax may be mixed in. 

To test silver, file an obscure part of the article and 
touch with a solution of one part C. P. nitric acid and 
two parts water. If silver, a black spot will show; if a 
low quality (below sterling), the spot will be shghtly 
greenish, but still black. A plated article, when touched 
with the acid, will bubble up green. A still better testis 
to add a little red bichromate of potash to the nitric acid, 
stir well and let stand until next day ; then apply a drop 
to the article to be tested and dip in water ; if spot shows 
red it is silver; on the other hand, should the spot be 
black or corroded, yellowish, or bright copper, or, in the 
case of platinum or German silver, which shows no 
change at all, the metal is not sterling silver. Some 
experience is necessary in successfully testing silver, and 
while the average pin or brooch may be quickly tested 
with a file, yet there are some makes of flat ware in which 
a white metal is employed that almost defies detection. 

The writer noticed, in a recent visit to New York, one 
or two jewelry stores on the avenue in which the stock 
was entirely silver. Some delicate and original designs 
in mountings for semi-precious stones were shown in the 
form of brooches, pendants, necklaces, bracelets, scarf 
pins, lorgnette chains, etc. The finishes were mostly on 
the antique order, shades of oxidizing from light gray to 
black, green and rose being prominent. It would seem 
that to the young and ambitious craftsman an oppor- 
tunity is here afforded to start in for himself in mount- 
ing up a few pieces, with the idea of building up a trade 
in this comparatively inexpensive line. There is un- 
doubtedly an outlet for salable sterling silver jewelry of 
character and individuality of design. 



76 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



SOLUTIONS FOR SILVER PLATING. 
Some Cheaply and Easily Made Solutions which Give Good 
Results — Details of Preparation — Making Own Solu- 
tions the Only Satisfactory Policy — The Double Cyanide 
Solution — Use of "Strike" Solutions — Advantage of 
Solutions without Free Cyanide. 

THE following solutions for silver plating can be 
made cheaply and will give fairly good results: 
A "dipping" solution, without the use of the 
electric current, is made by dissolving six or seven 
pennyweights of silver nitrate in about a gallon of rain 
water and adding a solution of five ounces C. P. po- 
tassium cyanide which has been dissolved in about 
three quarts of rain or distilled water. Add the cyanide 
very carefully. At first a white precipitate shows, and 
upon adding more of the solution this white powder, 
which is silver chloride, is redissolved. The point to 
keep in mind is not to add any more of the cyanide solu- 
tion than just enough to dissolve the silver; a little of 
the precipitate left on the bottom of the vessel will do 
no harm. If free cyanide is in the silvering solution it 
will attack the article to be silvered and combining with 
the silver in the solution will form a dull, dirty yellowish 
deposit. If the solution is properly prepared and the 
article to be immersed thoroughly clean and placed on a 
clean strip of zinc, a clear white color will show. 

A better solution, for use with a cell battery or dy- 
namo, is made by mixing two ounces of C. P. cyanide of 
potassium in one gallon of rain or distilled water, or 
water that has been boiled for half an hour and cooled, 
hanging in a strip of fine silver as an anode, and a smaller 
strip as the cathode. Remove in about an hour and 
weigh the anode to find out amount dissolved in solu- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 77 



tion, or remove the silver cathode and hang a German 
silver cathode in place and note the color of deposit. If 
with a current of one volt there is a very thin coating, 
remove the German silver and suspend the fine silver 
again. Should the deposit eventually show yellow or 
dull it shows that too much silver has been dissolved in 
the bath, and cyanide must be carefully added until the 
deposit is white. Nitrate of silver may also be used in mak- 
ing the above solution ; in fact, the first solution mentioned 
can be employed by simply adding a little free cyanide 
when used in connection with the electric current. 

The ambitious plater, however, soon feels impelled to 
go still further in the line of making his own solutions, 
and this policy is the only permanently satisfactory one. 
When you make your own baths, right from the pure 
silver sheet or granulated metal, you know exactly what 
you have, and can figure amount of silver in solution, 
quantity deposited on a given number of articles and 
what you will need for average daily use. 

The best silver plating solution is known as the "double 
cyanide solution," and is made as follows: Dissolve two 
ounces of fine silver, preferably plate rolled very thin 
and cut and twisted in little pieces, in an evaporating 
dish containing C. P. nitric acid and water — slightly 
more acid than water. This should be heated on a sand 
bath, or the dish may be placed in boiling water, the hot 
water being replenished from time to time. Keep under 
a draught to carry off the fumes, or place outdoors, as 
the vapor is poisonous. The silver should be added a 
little at a time, as too large a quantity at one time may 
cause violent action and some of the metal boil over. 
Enough of the acid and water should be mixed to just 
about dissolve the silver. If, after a time, the silver 
does not dissolve, even with the heat, add more acid and 
water carefully. Usually enough to cover all the silver 
will generally suffice to dissolve it. While an excess of 
the acid does not necessarily spoil the operation, yet it 
entails a great deal more labor in subsequently getting 
rid of same. 



78 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



When silver is all dissolved, evaporate solution to al- 
most dryness, and upon cooling dissolve the mass, which 
is now silver nitrate, in a gallon of water. Make a solu- 
tion by dissolving two ounces of cyanide of potassium in 
a pint of water, and add to the silver nitrate solution in 
small quantities; stir well each time, let it stand, and you 
will note a white powder settling; add a little. more until 
the precipitation ceases. This operation generally ex- 
tends over a couple of days to be successful. Allow it to 
stand until quite clear, pour off the liquid and well wash 
the precipitate several times with water. 

Dissolve four ounces of cyanide of potassium in a pint 
of water and add this to the silver cyanide with brisk stir- 
ring until it is just dissolved. Add water to make one 
gallon. This may be kept in a glass-stoppered bottle and 
small baths made from it, or the entire gallon may be 
used. In all cases a little free cyanide must be added to 
the bath. No definite quantity of free cyanide can be 
given, as everything depends on the current strength, 
nature of the work, etc. Suffice it to say, that a little is 
added at a time until the work shows a clear white. If 
the anode is left suspended in bath while not in use and 
shows yellow, it is a sign of not enough cyanide. On the 
other hand, if there is too much cyanide, the silver is 
transferred from the anode to the article to be plated 
and then redissolved in the solution, the coating of silver 
becoming nothing but a "blush" or film. Too much cy- 
anide will also attack the article, and in the case of a 
brass or copper piece of goods, your solution will become 
impregnated with these baser metals, materially affect- 
ing the color and quality of the bath. 

The great advantage in having a cyanide of silver so- 
' lution on hand which has no free cyanide is thus readily 
appreciated from the foregoing. In the case of too much 
free cyanide in the plating bath the fault is instantly rem- 
edied by adding the silver cyanide, and also in replenish- 
ing the bath from time to time. 

Copper, brass, German silver and white metals should 
be dipped in a solution of mercury which has been dis- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 79 



solved in nitric acid. Get about ten cents' worth of mer- 
cury from your chemist, place in a cup or dish and pour 
over it a little nitric acid; when dissolved, add a gallon 
of water and stir well. This dip will last a long time. 
Articles should first be polished or sanded, as the case 
may be, then thoroughly washed and dipped in a lye solu- 
tion. Dip in the mercury solution until white, rinse in 
cold water, and immediately transfer to the silver plat- 
ing solution. Work may be scratch-brushed with a brass 
brush, using a little bran water as a lubricant, or bur- 
rtished, as desired. Best results are obtained by heating 
solution and using a moderate current. 

Iron, steel and zinc should be coppered before plating. 
A copper cyanide solution is made by boiling carbonate of 
copper (about ten pennyweights) in a pintof water in which 
an ounce of cyanide of potassium is dissolved. Use a cop- 
per anode, suspend article in, after well scratch-brushing. 

Another excellent coppering dip is made by dissolving five 
ounces of sulphate of copper in one quart of water (cold) 
and then adding three ounces of sulphuric acid. Stir well; 
use small copper anode. This last solution is used cold. 

Some manufacturers use "strike" solutions for the pre- 
liminary coats. This is an old solution of silver, rich 
in metal. The current is run up and the article sus- 
pended for a few moments. A coating of silver is 
"burnt" on, forming a base for the regular plating bath. 
Where an extra heavy silver plating solution is desired, 
as on flat ware, the following is recommended: Fine sil- 
ver, 5 ounces; cyanide of potassium, 6 ounces; cream of 
tartar, 3 ounces; prussic acid, i ounce; water, i gallon. 

A bright silver solution is made by dissolving two 
ounces of fine silver in a gallon of water in which two 
and one-half ounces.of cyanide of potassium and fifteen 
pennyweights cream of tartar have been dissolved. 
Now make a solution of one ounce of C. P. bisulphite of 
carbon and one pint of liquid ammonia; mix in bottle, 
let stand twenty-four hours, well shake again, and pour 
one ounce into the above bright silver solution the night 
before using the bath. 



8o HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



BLACK AND GRAY FINISHES ON SILVER. 
Liver of Sulphur Solution the Standard — Process of Oxidiz- 
ing — Methods of Securing the French Gray Finish — 
Relieving the High Lights — Touching up Parts — Plati- 
num Solution for Intense Black Finish — Solution for 
Use with the Dynamo — A Black Nickel Solution. 

TO produce the dark bluish black finish, the "French 
gray" and "Butler" finishes, etc., on silver, or 
heavily silver plated goods, liver of sulphur is 
as good as any of the formulas in use. Some firms pre- 
fer it in a liquid form under the term sulphide of am- 
monia. Where it is not in daily use it should be pur- 
chased in small lots; ten cents' worth of liver of sulphur 
(in lumps) kept in a well-stoppered bottle will oxidize a 
great deal of work. Silver goods to be oxidized should, 
after scratch-brushing with a steel brush and bran water, 
be immersed in a caustic solution, either soda, lye or 
potash, rinsed, and immediately dipped in the liver of 
sulphur solution. This last should be made fresh as 
needed ; a piece the size of a small marble will be enough 
for a two-quart pan of water. Have your work strung 
on a copper or brass dipping rod. Heat the water nearly 
to a boil, then throw in the liver of sulphur and bring 
to a boil, when the sulphur will have been dissolved; then 
immerse the work and it will almost instantly become a 
deep blue-black. Keep the pan covered as much as 
possible. An ordinary enamel lined stew pan with a 
good handle and lid is all that is needed. Some finishers 
add a few drops of ammonia just before putting in the 
work. If work is left in too long a deposit is formed on 
the articles, which scales off. In this case, or if an even 
black is not obtained the first time, rinse off, re-scratch- 
brush and dip again. As soon as work shows black re- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 8i 



move, rinse off, first in cold water, then in hot, and dry 
at once in hot sawdust. The pieces after well drying are 
scratch-brushed with a very fine brass brush on a slow 
lathe. This brings out a glossy [blue-black finish. 
Another way is to rub with a piece of flannel, slightly 
oiled. 

The French gray finish is secured by rubbing with 
pumice powder and water, using a small brush, or a piece 
of cloth pad, or your finger. In this case work is not 
dried out in sawdust; simply rinse off after removing 
from the oxidizing solution and immediately apply the 
pumice powder. When the desired tone or shade is 
reached, which is ascertained by rinsing off occasionally 
as you use the pumice, the work is finally well rinsed 
and dried in sawdust. 

Another excellent method in getting the delicate gray 
is to carefully sand the work. This necessitates drying 
out in sawdust first. After sanding the dark spots out, 
finish by rubbing the high parts with the pumice powder. 
Some customers like to have parts brightened or bur- 
nished. This is easily done with a bloodstone or well- 
polished steel burnisher, sometimes finishing off with the 
rouge buff. For certain repair and small jobs, a glass 
brush will answer for relieving the "high lights." This 
last has a tendency to give the silver a slightly yellowish 
tinge and is not as good, consequently, as the pumice- 
stone powder. This, by the way, should be the very 
finest grade of powder. There are several grades of 
coarseness. For touching up parts, a little bottle of 
water with a small bit of liver of sulphur kept on your 
bench comes in very handy. In this case warm up the 
work over an alcohol lamp and paint on with a clean 
camel's-hair brush. When solution gets weak, throw 
away and make new. 

Some platers recommend dipping work in a weak 
solution of bichloride of mercury and sal ammoniac 
before oxidizing, others give work a dip in the silver 
plating solution, thus depositing a film of fine silver. 
The writer has found these of no particular benefit and 



82 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



has found that if work is thoroughly clean, well scratch- 
brushed with the steel brush, and is sterling silver, or of 
a silver alloy in which copper is the principal metal used 
in alloying, the resultant finish is just as good with 
the plain liver of sulphur solution. Other formulas, if 
the reader feels like experimenting, for getting a dark 
shade, are sulphide of barium and water, also butter of 
antimony. Use very little of these to plenty of water. 

Another "French gray," used by a large silver con- 
cern, is a solution of 3 parts nitric acid to i part of muri- 
atic; or. Sulphate of iron, i ounce; muriatic acid, 2 parts, 
and nitric acid i part, using just enough of the acids to 
dissolve; evaporate to one-fifth its volume, cool and add 
one-third its volume of alcohol. 

The intense black finish is secured only with the chlo- 
ride of platinum solution. This is obtained, as explained 
in a preceding chapter, either by purchase or making 
your own chloride by dissolving sheet platinum (pure), 
rolled very thin and well crinkled to let the acids attack 
it readily, placing in a long-necked flask, pouring on a 
mixture of three or four parts of chemically pure muri- 
atic acid to one of nitric acid. Enough should be poured 
on to cover the platinum. Place in a hot sand bath, 
letting it remain until dissolved. This sometimes takes 
fifteen or twenty hours. Let dry until almost cool; add 
a little distilled water and evaporate again ; let it cool and 
carefully add about two ounces of pure grain alcohol for 
each pennyweight of platinum used. A good plan is to 
have three glass-stoppered bottles containing various 
strengths, starting with the weakest solution, which is 
diluted with half water, and finishing with the strongest 
solution, which is about one-fourth chloride and three- 
fourths alcohol. A little experience will teach you how 
much water and alcohol may be added. A pennyweight 
of platinum will last an indefinite time and will make 
about a half-pint mixture. 

The piece of silver, or the article well silver plated and 
thoroughly cleansed from all grease, is slightly warmed 
and brushed with a rather stiff brush dipped in the 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 83 



weaker solution and finally given a coating from the 
strong or first solution. Small articles are warmed over 
an alcohol lamp, taking care to keep the bottled solutions 
away from the flame. After a deep black shows the 
work is let cool and finished with a soft brush or cloth, 
slightly oiled with a little pure oil. A glossy black is 
secured by using a solution in which a little gum arabic 
has been dissolved, avoiding an excess of the gum, as it 
dries "cakey" and scales off. As a rule, the article will 
be glossy enough for all requirements if carefully finished 
with the oil. 

In work that has been silver plated it is well to be as 
expeditious as possible, as the solution is liable to eat the 
plating off, exposing the metal underneath. A little ex- 
perience will soon enable the workman to get good re- 
sults. These platinum solutions will keep for years in 
glass-stoppered bottles, and are always available for 
repairs, retouching, etc., and in jobs where it is not worth 
while to make an iron solution the work may be quickly 
given a heavy silver deposit (if not solid silver) and 
blackened with the platinum solution in a few moments, 
insuring a beautiful black that is lasting. 

This platinum oxidize finish is largely used on gold 
work to-day, people in mourning bringing in their jew- 
elry to have it silver plated and blackened, also buying 
new goods to be refinished black. The period of mourn- 
ing over, the jewelry is restored to its original color at 
slight expense. This platinum solution properly ap- 
plied gives fully as rich a velvety black as the iron gun 
metal finish, is quite durable, and does not become pitted 
or show rust spots, as in the case of the iron deposit. 
Chloride of platinum may be purchased already pre- 
pared for mixing with alcohol, from the chemical supply 
houses or wholesale druggists. Work after being well 
blackened is carefully brushed with a slightly oily brush 
or rubbed with a cloth. A little chloride of iron may 
be added to get a little less expensive solution. It is 
advisable, however, to keep the platinum in the larger 
proportion. 



84 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



Here is another recipe for a black finish in which a 
well regulated dynamo must be used: Water, i gallon; 
acetate copper crystals, ^)4 ounces; carbonate of soda, 
2,y2 ounces; bisulphite of soda, 3 ounces; C. P. cyanide of 
potassium, 7>^ ounces. Moisten the copper salt first 
to make a paste ; next stir in the carbonate of soda, then 
the bisulphite of soda, and finally the cyanide. The 
solution must be colorless; if not, carefully add more 
cyanide. The article is plated in this solution, using 
copper sheet anode and a current of about i volt for 
small stuff. When a good copper deposit has been ob- 
tained remove the article and immerse it in a solution of 
2 ounces nitrate of iron and 2 ounces of hyposulphite of 
soda to I pint of water (rain or distilled). Warm it up, 
not exactly boiling, wash, dry and brush. The better 
the article is polished, the deeper will be the black lustre. 

There are various black nickel solutions on the mar- 
ket; the following is good: Nickel solution, i gallon; car- 
bonate of ammonia, 3 ounces; Hquid 20 per cent am- 
monia, one pint; white arsenic (powdered), i ounce; 
and enough cyanide of potassium to make solution clear. 
Pulverize the carbonate of ammonia and add it to the 
nickel solution. Next add the liquid ammonia. Now 
dissolve the arsenic in a small quantity of the solution 
(make it into a paste) and add, the cyanide of potassium 
being added last, using just enough to clear; it should 
be about the color of dark vinegar. Use a nickel anode, 
with not too strong a current. If the work shows streaks 
or spots, remove and scratch-brush, then use a stronger 
current. Too much current will show a dirty gray-black. 
After the solution has been used for some time the de- 
posit may be o& color. In such case add a little more 
arsenic. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 85 



CHAPTER XX. 



GUN METAL FINISH. 
An Iron Coating That Stands the File Test — Directions for 
Dipping — Process and Formula for Gun Metal Finish — 
Cheap Enough to Experiment with — Always a Demand 
for This Finish — Use Fresh Solutions. 

TO get a coating of iron that will stand the file test 
the following solution is given: Sulphate of iron, 
12 pennyweights; dissolve in 15 liquid ounces of 
water; add 6 ounces of 20 per cent ammonia, stir well, 
and then add one and one-half ounces of Rochelle salts. 
Use hot. Have good, clean current connections and 
plenty of sheet iron anodes. Current should be regu- 
lated to amount of work, but need not be over three volts. 
Work is well sanded, scratch-brushed with steel brushes 
and dipped in a weak, hot solution of caustic soda in 
water, before immersing in bath. Take out frequently 
and well scratch -brush until an even deposit is obtained, 
when work may be left in from fifteen to thirty minutes. 
On the first dip the work will show a rich black; this, 
however, is but a film, and will brush off to a lighter 
shade. Be sure that the entire article is coating evenly 
before giving the heavy deposit. If directions are prop- 
erly followed, a grayish white (like dull silver) deposit of 
pure iron will be the result, about the thickness of the 
paper this is printed on. If a thicker coating is desired, 
the article may be left in longer, scratch-brushing at 
intervals; the thickness of deposit is ascertained by tak- 
ing a fine needle file and applying it to the article. If 
the work does not appear to be "taking," run up the cur- 
rent a little ; as high as six volts may be used ,but where work 
is enameled, the lowest possible current must be used. 
To get the deep blue-black or gun metal finish, the 
work is rinsed off in hot water after the final scratch- 



86 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



brushing and hung by a copper wire in a porcelain or 
enameled pan containing a solution of 12 pennyweights 
acetate of lead and 12 pennyweights of hydrosulphite of 
soda, each of these ingredients having been previously 
dissolved in a half-pint of water, then poured together 
and warmed. After the work is immersed, bring to a 
boil, remove, scratch-brush, and repeat once or twice, 
when it will present a bluish appearance; wipe dry, and 
if hollow, hold over an alcohol lamp to dry out ; now take 
an oiled brush' or cloth and brush or wipe carefully, 
avoiding an excess of oil — just a smear is all that is 
wanted- — using boiled linseed oil. Wipe or brush almost 
dry and hold over an alcohol lamp; watch carefully until 
a deep, velvety black shows, when let cool and hang in 
linseed oil until wanted. Work in quantity is "baked" 
in iron ovens made for this purpose, and of course can 
be better regulated as to temperature, etc. 

It will require experience and patience to get through 
the various operations successfully, and the beginner 
should practice on some metal pins before attempting to 
take up the work in hand. For all small work, as 
brooches and handy pins, the alcohol lamp may be used, 
but in lorgnettes, hand bags, cigar cases, etc., the oven is 
necessary. The work as it comes from the acetate of 
lead bath is almost deep enough in shade, and only needs 
the additional heating to give it the desired gun-metal 
color. Any size bath, of course, may be made by simply 
keeping the same proportions; being an inexpensive solu- 
tion the amateur may experiment to his heart's content, 
and by regulating the heat, get shades from a deep blue- 
black to an intense velvety black. Sometimes the ace- 
tate of lead and the hydrosulphite of soda may be old 
stuff, in which case use a little larger quantity. 

There is always a demand for jewelry with the genuine 
gun metal finish, and of late years black enamel pieces, 
chains, or brooches, showing absolutely no gold at all, 
are constantly being called for. In the case of the chain, 
it being impossible to enamel the small connecting links, 
the gun metal solution is used after chain is enameled 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 87 

and soldered" together and an all-black effect for deep 
mourning is obtained. In this way many articles re- 
ceived from private customers may be given the black 
finish during a period of mourning, the black being re- 
moved at a trifling expense and the piece of jewelry re- 
stored to its original state when desired. To remove the 
iron deposit, boil in a solution of nine parts water and 
one part sulphuric acid, of course first removing all pearls 
and all semi-precious stones, corals, amethysts, topaz, etc. 
Iron solutions generally work best the day after they 
are made. They will keep in glass-stoppered bottles, 
but should not be kept too long; better make fresh solu- 
tions often. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



SILVER AS A BASE FOR BLACK ENAMEL. 
A Demand for Sterling Silver Jewelry — Cost of the Metal is 
Small Compared with That of Gold — Black Enameling 
Presents Field for Great Opportunity — Method of Get- 
ting a Satiny, Frosted Effect— Use Care in Handling 
Acids — Process of Annealing. 

A LARGE number of manufacturers of fine gold 
jewelry, recognized as such throughout the 
trade, find it a paying proposition to also make 
sterling silver jewelry. The chief reasons for so doing 
are, first, that there is a demand for it; second, the cost of 
making the dies that are used for the gold work, and 
which are used in the silver goods, is overcome in the in- 
creased output, and third, it affords employment to a 
number of employees who would possibly be idle during 
the dull seasons in the gold line. The third reason is not 
wholly philanthropic, as lack of employment causes dis- 
organization, workmen seek other positions, and when 
the orders come in and the rush season is on it is not an 
easy matter to get suitable artisans skilled in the work 
to making the producing end run evenly, as formerly. 

Sterling silver costs about six cents a pennyweight 
at this time, lo-karat gold forty-six cents, and 14-karat 
gold sixty-five cents. It is readily seen that the cost of 
the metal is comparatively nothing as compared with 
gold, and as silver goods are usually made in large quan- 
tities the labor is consequently less. Now, silver is a 
precious metal, is solid all the way through, and is de- 
manded by customers who will not wear the rolled plate 
gold jewelry, and in the shape of summer jewelry, class 
pins, buckles, cuff links and buttons, especially where the 
design is unusual and the die work superfine, the sale is 
rapid, and orders are duplicated. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 89 



Some houses make a die and use it exclusively on gold 
the first season, thereafter working in both gold and sil- 
ver. Odd designs or novelties will sell better in silver 
than gold, the customer getting a solid article cheap and 
also knowing that the changing fashions will make the 
piece of jewelry look out of date the following season 
and the low cost will enable the purchaser to buy the 
latest design. 

As noted in a previous chapter, silver will admit of 
infinite finishes, colors, shades, etc., but the writer does 
not propose to speak of these here except the making of 
sterling silver jewelry for black enameling. This is a 
field for great opportunity if the goods are finished prop- 
erly. It is, of course, obvious that there is a demand for 
mourning goods and always will be. The average person 
is unable or may not care to purchase solid gold black 
enamel pins, buttons, cuff links, bracelets, or chains, and 
therefore looks for an inexpensive substitute that is not 
plated, brass, etc. Silver is the only logical metal, and 
is thoroughly practical for all kinds of enameling. Black 
enamel work is most durable and lasting, keeps its in- 
tense black, and in comparison with the gun metal or 
the various oxidized finishes stands easily away in the 
lead. 

The art of enameling is perhaps not as difficult as it 
may seem. To those who are finding some difficulty in 
getting good results the writer gives the following tips: 
Have a depth cut of about forty points, dial screw gauge, 
with the stop line at right angles, cut straight and sharp. 
All work should be thoroughly clean and annealed before 
charging. Always use the hardest running enamel your 
work will stand. In black enamel work the piece should 
be dipped in hydrofluoric acid and brushed with sand and 
water before the last coat of enamel is put on. This is 
done to remove scum in the enamel, which might show in 
the subsequent frosting or etching. On flat work the 
enamel is usually put on thick, then filed with carborun- 
dum, or emery files and water, then lapped on a felt buff 
which is charged with pumicestone and water. This lev- 



90 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

els the enamel to the stop lines, making the surface of the 
article smooth and even. It should be said that work is 
fired after the filing and before lapping on the felt buff. 

There is a demand for well-made and finished black 
enamel jewelry, and to get the best results the work is 
etched or creped in two solutions. Solution No. i is made 
of hydrofluoric acid well broken by adding three to six 
ounces carbonate of ammonia, small pieces at a time, un- 
til work after immersion for about one minute shows a 
dull, grayish, even black. If acid is too strong the work 
is pitted or is uneven, dull here, bright there; it must be 
absolutely uniform before the final dip in solution No. 2. 
This solution is the same as No. i, except that about one- 
half the carbonate of ammonia is added. Work should 
be dipped in this only for an instant, then immediately 
plunged into clean, cold water and brushed with a stiff 
tampico brush. It is well to have two bowls, papier ma- 
che or rubber, as all glass or porcelain is dissolved by the 
acid. Work for dipping is placed on little disks of brass 
well perforated, and connected to a long handle of brass 
or copper. Get your plumber to make you a few lead 
cups, with covers, for holding the acid. 

Work as it is taken from No. i solution shows a gray- 
ish scum. After plunging in first bowl of water and then 
rinsing off in the other after brushing, the work is wiped 
with clean cloth and if not found to be evenly etched is 
again immersed. Be sure that work is right before giv- 
ing the final dip in No. 2. The beautiful soft velvety 
black finish is gotten this way, and by experimenting with 
different strengths of acids the dull black, velvety black, 
also the bright satin-like lustre, is acquired. The writer 
has seen work that is spoiled by using a white acid, which 
gives work a gray finish and a cheap look. In ordering 
enamel always state quality of your goods, gold, silver, 
or metal, and state also whether for polished enamel or 
for etching. 

Great care must be exercised in handling hydrofluoric 
acid, as it is very powerful and a drop on the flesh leaves 
a very painful wound; should any get on, plunge at once 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 91 

into clean, cold water from faucet. It is best kept in 10- 
pound lead jugs. The carbonate of ammonia should be 
kept air tight. Acids once broken down and working 
right may be kept for some time in the lead cups well 
covered. 

All work, after final dipping, which is known to be all 
right by drying one or two pieces, is placed in a clean 
dish and kept under water until it is convenient to wash 
it out well in warm water with soap and a little ammonia 
and drying in best boxwood sawdust. A point to keep in 
mind is that work must be kept under water after once 
having been dipped in acid and until after the final 
washing and drying in sawdust. 

Some houses have gone after the black enamel line and 
make a specialty of it, advertising themselves as such. 
The above formula is used by the best firm in the busi^ 
ness to-day, making 14-karat and i8-karat goods for the 
best stores in this country and also for the Paris store of 
one of the largest houses here. This manufacturer has 
also made a great quantity of sterling silver, but of late 
years has been forced to discontinue this, owing to the in- 
creased demand for the gold goods, not having the ca- 
pacity and facilities, also possibly not caring to handle 
both. 

Sterling silver black enamel Work is usually gilded 
either Roman or 14-karat finish, which wears well and 
survives a period of mourning. 

While it is advisable to have a regular enamel anneal- 
ing furnace, yet good work can be done in a coal stove. 
Use good live fire, all the gas burned off, and place work 
in on a sheet-iron stand which rests on a fire clay disc or 
plate as a foundation. Watch carefully and do not over- 
heat so that pin is unsoldered or melted. Black enamel 
work, if well dulled, presents a beautiful velvety finish, 
looking very much like onyx jewelry, only richer and 
more even in shade. A bright, dull, or "greasy" finish is 
acquired by giving it a lightning dip in a still stronger 
solution, i. e., less carbonate of ammonia in the hydro- 
fluoric acid. At all events, avoid the dull, dirty gray so 



92 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



commonly seen on the cheaper grades of jewelry. It 
does not cost any more to get it right after you have once 
gotten the hang of it. 

No matter what the final tone is to be, all black enamel 
work is given the preliminary dulling in the first solution, 
which must be very weak. If it is not so, your work will 
come out pitted, streaky, with bright spots here and 
there, all caused by too strong a solution. The second 
acid brings up the rich black in its various tones, shad- 
ing from dull to a brighter, satiny frosting. Do not use 
white acids for creping, nor any ready prepared frosting 
solutions. It is best to get a lo-pound jug (lead) of hy- 
drofluoric acid and a can of carbonate of ammonia and 
break it down yourself, so you will know where you are 
at. 

Bear in mind that the enamel in the solutions is etch- 
ing, or eating away, thereby thinning the coating and 
running the chances of showing through to the metal. 
Experiment with old discarded goods until you get the 
acids "right," and then proceed as rapidly as possible. 
In buying enamel, always state whether you want it for 
bright or dull finish, and also tell what metal you are 
going to use it on. 

In raising sterling silver work for enameling, the 
writer finds that the best results are obtained if from ten 
to twenty points, dial screw gauge, thicker stock is used 
than that of gold, or, in other words, from one-quarter 
to one-half as thick again as the gold work. This extra 
thickness on the part of the silver is necessary to over- 
come the softness of that metal and the consequent bend- 
ing and chipping of the enamel. In comparing black 
enamel gold work with that of silver the enamel shows 
exactly the same, and in the case of, say, a pair of silver 
link buttons, the metal will cost about twenty cents and 
will look exactly the same as a pair of solid gold links, 
with the metal costing anywhere from $3 up. The silver 
links will wear as well and give the same satisfaction and 
answer the purpose. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 93 



CHAPTER XXII. 



ENAMELING. 
Avoid Dust in Enameling Room — Preparation of Enamels — 
Charging and Firing — Modeled and Painted Work — 
How to Remove Enamel — Fluxing — Firing on Orna- 
ments — ^Very Close Inspection is Necessary — Engine 
Turning vs. Hand Engraving. 

WHERE possible, enameling should be done in a 
room removed from the machinery, belts, etc., 
the floor should be sprinkled to keep dust par- 
ticles down and finer grades of work should always be 
kept under glass covers while in process of charging or 
painting. Have the furnace in a dark or well-screened 
corner, so that work may be more carefully fired. For 
the lower priced enamel jewelry and metal goods, enamel 
machine grinders or crushers are used, as also when a large 
quantity of enamel of one color is to be prepared, but in 
the finest and most expensive jewelry the enamel is 
crushed by hand, using a steel pounder that fits snugly 
into a steel block so that enamel will not be lost in the 
breaking and pounding. When • well pulverized the 
powder is removed, well rubbed and washed out with 
several washings in an agate mortar, using distilled water 
that has been filtered through best filtering paper into a 
glass-stoppered bottle. In fine work it is absolutely es- 
sential that the enamel be well ground and thoroughly 
washed to remove all grit, scum, etc. Now put into 
enamel cups ready for charging; keep moist and cover 
article evenly with first coat, using round steel chargers 
}i inch thick, flattened out on the ends. Keep a number 
of small pieces of clean white blotting paper handy for 
use in taking up excess of moisture in enamel ; by pressing 
around the edges of pin the water is drawn into the blot- 
ting paper. Work should not be allowed to stand too 



94- HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

long before firing, as enamel will dry and fall off. It is 
advisable to have sheet-iron forms that work fits into, as 
in the annealing soldered parts may be loosened or 
strained. 

In opaque enamel work, inlaid, see that edge or stop 
line is sharp and at right angles, especially in white 
enamel, as white requires more care in avoiding burnt or 
- yellow edges. About the right depth of cutting for 
enamel is 40 points on the dial screw gauge. Carborun- 
dum files are used for filing enamel flat to gold edge, 
keeping them wet in water. The work is then given a 
final firing and the face of pin is lapped on a felt lap 
charged with pumice powder and water. This operation 
removes waves, blemishes, etc., and gives a mirror-like 
finish to work. Work that is modeled, as flowers, etc., 
of course cannot be lapped, so greater care must be exer- 
cised in the charging of the enamel so that the shape of 
flower is kept and the enamel spread evenly. 

All work for painting, tinting, veining, etc., is first 
given an opaque white enamel ground, using as hard a 
white as quality of goods will stand. Use liquid paints 
furnished in tubes by first-class enamel paint. supply 
houses, as they are better than the powders. Paint 
should be well rubbed up with oil of lavender. As a rule 
work burns a little darker in repeated firing, so it is well 
to keep it a shade lighter than the sample to be matched. 
■~^ Black, or almost any opaque enamel work, is usually 
done in about three chargings and firings; in the case of 
the black, the work must be dipped in a weak solution of 
acid, to remove any possible scum, and well brushed with 
sand and water before the final charging and firing. 

In preparing enamel it is well not to pound up more 
than enough for the day's work, as the moist mixture 
"sours," to a certain extent, over night. 

Enamel may be removed from work by letting stay in 
hydrofluoric acid over night, or in case of need it is boiled 
off in a copper pan over a gas burner placed in the forge 
or where there is a good draft to carry off the fumes. 
Where work is done on a large scale, a suction hood, 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 95 

with forced draft from a blower, should be installed, as 
the fumes and vapors are poisonous and will "frost" all 
the windows, spoiling spectacles, etc., costing at the end 
of a year many times over the cost of a hood with pipe 
from blower. Enamel may also be removed by covering 
the enamel thickly with a paste of cyanide of potassium 
and water; anneal and boil out in the regular sulphuric 
,acid pickle; when all effervescence ceases the enamel will 
have disappeared. 

All the regular colors of enamel, as black, white, tur- 
quoise, green, red, etc., require no fluxing for either 
bright finish or for etching; but work that has been 
painted or shaded is usually given a light coating of flux 
to protect the painting, as in the subsequent etching the 
paint, or some of it, would be attacked. In some flower 
work, however, where the painting is of one shade, with 
no veins, a much more delicate result is obtained by using 
a slightly darker shade of paint and not fluxing. In 
the etching the paint is, as said before, attacked, and upon 
removing and washing out a lighter shade is the result; 
the edges of flowers are thinner and more natural, as the 
flux, which is a transparent enamel, makes edges thick 
and the whole effect clumsier. 

Some enamel jewelry, as belt pins, handy pins, etc., are 
embellished with little gold stars, dots, etc., scattered at 
intervals over the pin. These little ornaments are 
punched out of fine gold rolled as thin as tissue paper. 
The punches are filed up to the desired shape and fired 
on in the last firing. 

In pins, where only sections are enameled, much better 
colors are secured by using a fine gold background ; take, 
for instance, a brooch having a small red enamel star or 
other ornament; if a piece of fine gold be fitted in, the red 
enamel is richer in color. In cases of transparent blue 
and amethyst a background of fine silver is used, always 
keeping in mind the fact that all transparent enamel is 
brighter and richer if work is put through stripping solu- 
tion to remove fire stain and the background is rouged 
before enameling. All work should be examined and all 



96 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



edges, burrs, etc., well scraped and rounded so that pin 
will not show transparent in spots after enameling and 
etching. 

Work that has settings soldered on to be flush with the 
enamel, and, in fact, anything that is to be enameled up 
against the solder line, should be carefully scrutinized for 
pin holes, unsound soldering, etc., as all these imperfec- 
tions will cause more trouble in the subsequent setting of 
the stones and finishing. 

In work for transparent enameling showing an under- 
cut pattern of engine turning, some very fine effects are 
shown by using these machines. Some very pretty pat- 
terns can also be cut by hand, and on certain work the 
cost is not any more. Take a bar pin, say two inches long 
and one-quarter inch wide : an engraver can cut a spray 
of leaves, using a lining tool to make the background, 
which, when enameled, has an artistic effect and sells well. 

Unless one is going into enameling strongly and on a 
large scale, the purchasing of circular, straight line and 
oval engine turning lathes, with a large variety of pat- 
terns, rosettes, etc., is a rather expensive proposition, 
especially as styles are fickle and change rapidly. 

Where it is practical, work for enameling should al- 
ways be made out of newly alloyed gold, always remem- 
bering that an alloy with as few ingredients as possible is 
best, and the least number of meltings and annealings will 
result in less oxides. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 97. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



ENAMELING (CONTINUED). 
Variety of Design and Economy of Production a Feature of 
Enamel Work — It Also "Looks the Money" — Quality of 
Gold to Use — Engine-Turned Goods — Specializing the 
Work — Flux for Use over Painting — To Get Black 
Lines. 

THE old saw about "the jeweler's work being poor 
and tame without the engraver's cunning art," 
may be applied with equal truth to the enameling 
of jewelry. In the ceaseless striving for new effects at 
salable prices enamel work is most kept in mind. There 
are two excellent reasons for this, the first being the in- 
finite variety of styles and designs one may get with the 
use of en'amels, and the second is the cost. A large and 
very showy piece of jewelry, looking every cent the 
money, can be produced at comparatively moderate cost 
by the judicious use of enamel parts. Take, as an in- 
stance, a finely enameled iris, with a platinum stem -or . 
twig set with a few diamonds, or a large pansy, the edge 
of which is set with small stones, or fancy scroll, or lace- . 
work pin where the enamel is artistically worked in with 
the precious stones. 

In the making of these pins it is obvious that the slight 
additional cost of using high quality gold more than off- 
sets the frequent chipping of the enamel (or at least the 
likelihood of it) that usually results in the using of gold 
that is of low quality and perhaps has been melted over 
several times. At the same time there is a danger of 
making gold too fine and consequently too soft for prac- 
tical purposes. As an instance, one large manufacturer 
made recently a lot of 22-karat goods, making them extra 
heavy and massive. He succeeded in placing them in 
the fine stores on Fifth avenue. New York, but they did 



98 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



not sell and were sent back to be credited off, and went 
to the melting pot. The goods were too heavy, the soft- 
ness making it necessary, and also too high priced; in 
other words, they did not look the money. While on 
this subject, it is noteworthy that shoppers pass up, as a 
rule, anything over 14-karat in this country, but seem to 
buy and favor the purchasing of i8-karat and better in 
the European countries. 

Every maker of fine enamel jewelry has his pet alloys 
and uses anywhere from 14-karat up. An i8-karat alloy 
of 18 parts fine gold, 4 of silver, and 2 of copper is a good 
one to work on. If a lower quality is desired, simply take 
from the gold and add to the silver and copper so that 1 7- 
karat would be, fine gold, 17 parts, silver, 4^ parts, and 
copper, 2}4 parts. Softer alloys may be made by using 
more silver and less copper. It is not advisable to use 
less than the quantity of copper given, however, as 
the alloy being soft, it is liable to bend and chip the 
enamel. 

The beautifully enameled watches and lockets ex- 
hibited in the stores were, in the first instance, imported, 
some of the jewelers here manufacturing them later. 
These goods were all made in i8-karat and showed some 
fine engine turning combined with a little hand cutting, 
and were sold for a little less than they could be made for 
in this country, in spite of the high import duty. The 
writer saw some silver bonbon boxes from Germany sell- 
ing for $6 apiece that could hardly be engine turned alone 
for that money, to say nothing of the cost of enameling 
in varied and many colors, the making of the box, etc. 
The reason is that goods are made of one pattern in 
enormous quantities, also the cost of labor being about 
one-quarter that of this country. 

It is quite possible, however, to so specialize your work 
that you can compete. One Newark firm has made a 
success and created a big business by devoting all their 
attention, time and money to engine-turned goods. One 
of the members went directly to Switzerland, the head- 
quarters of engine-turning lathes, and got all the latest 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 99 



information, newest "rosettes," or patterns, and other 
wrinkles. As a consequence, others simply have to go 
to this house for a fine job or to match a piece of foreign 
jewelry. The point is that you can't nibble at every- 
thing; you may have an established trade with a few old 
concerns, but the young blood coming along is forced, as 
a matter of self-preservation, to keep thoroughly posted 
on the newest and most up-to-date novelties, so the 
specialist is bound to get in because he will have better 
goods at lower prices. 

There are two lathes necessary, the circular, to which 
may also be fitted an oval chuck, and the straight line. 
These lathes come from Switzerland and are fitted with 
numbers of pattern or "rosette" wheels, which, by means 
of set screws and other attachments, levers, etc., will 
admit of an almost endless variety of designs. They 
may be purchased for about $200 to $250. They are 
fitted so that the work may be directly turned. 

There are also engine-turning lathes for dies. These 
are built on stronger lines with powerful holders for the 
die. To the maker of work in quantity the die lathes are 
the proper thing, although the cost of them is about $500. 
The die once made, however, there is no extra cost over 
that of any other die-raised article. Some firms have 
their die cutting done outside ; a firm in New York makes 
a specialty of engine-turned dies for the trade. 

AH work for transparent enamel should be first put 
through the stripping solution and rouge buffed. This 
insures a bright background for the enamel and presents 
a much livelier and richer finish. It is not customary to 
stamp the gold, other than 14-karat, for the reason that 
the joint, catch and pin tongue are usually of that quality, 
and if stiffening parts are used they may also be of the 
same grade. In other words, only the part that is to be 
enameled need to be of better quality. In the opaque 
straight colors, as red, blue, turquoise, black, white, etc., 
a 14-karat alloy of fine gold 14 parts, to 7 of silver and 3 
of copper, will stand up well, and it is not necessary to 
use any better quality. 



100 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



It is apparently impossible to get a pink enamel that 
will stay pink in the firings and not get a yellowish brown 
on the edges. A number of makers of enamel have a so- 
called pink which might possibly do for low-priced or 
plated jewelry, but the finest pink enamel work to-day is 
painted. This is done by first coating the pin with white 
enamel and painting on the pink, using shades of fusible 
lilac purchased in tubes. Some stores prefer a very deli- 
cate pink and others demand a more solid color. It is 
essential to use the very hardest running white enamel 
that the goods will stand. 

In ordering enamel always state what you are going to 
use it on. The tool and material supply houses have a 
stock of enamel which is mostly easy running for repair 
work. Enamel jewelry after painting and firing will last 
longer if a final coat of flux be fired on. This flux is 
nothing more than the best transparent glass well ground. 
One house the writer was with bought quantities of drug- 
gist's small pellet bottles and ground them up as a flux. 

The beautiful frosted or etched effect may be given to 
enamel by quickly immersing in a solution of hydrofluoric 
acid and carbonate of ammonia. The ammonia is simply 
put in to somewhat lessen the strength. Holding over 
the mouth of the acid jug will oftentimes suffice. The 
creping of black and other opaque enamel work was 
taken up in a preceding chapter; greater care must be 
exercised in the mixing of the acids and in the dipping 
and finishing. Hydrofluoric acid should be kept only in 
lead or rubber jugs; avoid inhaling the fumes and always 
keep a large dish of clear, cold water handy in case you 
should accidentally get any of the acid on you. 

A very good black is secured on jewelry where it is de- 
sirable to keep the veins, lines, etc., prominent in the case 
of a face, which would be filled up to a certain extent 
with enamel, by simply painting with iridium black (fus- 
ible) and firing. Some fine work has been done in this 
way, notably Moors' heads, with a large baroque pearl as 
the head ornament or fez. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. loi 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



MELTING PLATINUM. 
Cost of Melting and Tedious Wait Offsets Expense of In- 
stalling Oxy-Hydrogen Furnace — -Details of Operation — 
Close Attention Needed — Platinum Faced Nickel in 
Sheet and Wire — Recovering the Platinum from Plated 
Stock. 

JEWELERS using platinum daily and in fair quantity 
are gradually installing platinum melting furnaces. 
The charge for melting scrap is in the neighborhood 
of $1.50 per ounce where it is taken in exchange, and 
this, coupled with the time it takes to get new platinum, 
more than offsets the cost of the oxygen and hydrogen 
tanks, these being the only running expense. The fur- 
nace is capable of holding a crucible having a capacity 
of about 100 pennyweights, and is a round, table-like 
affair of iron. The crucibles are specially made for melt- 
ing platinum, and are thicker than the ones used for gold 
or silver. The two tanks, one containing oxygen and 
the other hydrogen, are purchased from the New York 
Calcium Light Company. A meter is also sent, with a 
wrench for turning on or off the gases and for regulating 
the pressure. These tanks, when found to be nearly 
empty, are replaced by other freshly filled ones. 

Now the melting of platinum scrap, whether pure, or 
alloyed with 10 per cent or 20 per cent iridium, is not as 
difificult as it perhaps would seem, and if the following 
directions are carefully followed, any one who has done 
any melting of gold or silver will soon get onto the knack. 
The scrap is first rolled thin, say about 40 points in the 
dial screw gauge, cut in small pieces about one-quarter 
inch square; place a few pieces only in the crucible and 
start the gas furnace. The gas and air are supplied by 
means of the ordinary rubber tubing, or, if one desires, 



I02 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



a pipe can be attached; regulate your furnace as in other 
melting and prepare your tubing for the tables. A tube 
is connected with each tank, combining and feeding one 
nozzle. This nozzle is also supplied by the material 
houses which sell the furnaces, and is a specially made 
mouth of about the same stuff as the crucibles. 

As soon as the crucible is thoroughly red hot, or when 
it is noticed that it will not get any hotter, take the nozzle 
in your left hand, using some sort of asbestos shield in 
front for protection, and ignite the hydrogen first by turn- 
ing the nut at the top of the tank. Regulate until you 
have a flame about the length of a lead pencil. Now turn 
on your oxygen in the same manner. Turn very slowly 
and watch flame until it gets more intense in volume and 
finally "spits." Take off the cover of the furnace and in- 
sert mouth of the blowpipe. Keep about an inch {torn 
the platinum, which should get white hot and melt almost 
immediately. Watch closely, using a large pair of black 
goggles, and keep your hand and wrench on the oxygen 
tank. When melted into a button, have a careful assist- 
ant add more scrap, a little at a time, using an iron tube 
or scoop. If too much is put in at once there is danger of 
having trouble in melting. 

In the process it sometimes happens that one of the 
gases may go out; perhaps the tubing may get bent or the 
pressures are not just right. In this case quickly turn off 
the oxygen and then the hydrogen and start over again. 
A little experience will teach you how to avoid this. The 
moment the flame is removed the platinum hardens, and 
with thirty or forty pennyweights in the crucible in a 
lump, it is difficult to get it melted again. The point to 
watch out for is to get the combination of the two gases 
just right before starting to melt. As said before, if 
flame "spits" the metal will melt at once. When all 
scrap is melted, turn off the oxygen, then the hydrogen, and 
finally the gas. The crucible is lifted out and turned 
over; a sharp rap will loosen the button, which is then 
cooled and worked up into plate or wire, as desired. In 
this way the manufacturer can melt his own scrap several 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 103 



times during the day if he desires. The tanks cost about 
$6, and with care last for a great many meltings.* 

With platinum containing 20 per cent iridium soaring 
around the $175 per ounce mark, and pure platinum only a 
few dollars less, there is a great deal of experimenting be- 
ing done by refiners of this metal. One firm is making a 
platinum-faced nickel sheet and a platinum-clad wife, 
both of which are finding a ready market. The propor- 
tions of platinum and nickel are varied to suit the buy- 
er's requirements. Pure nickel is sweated to the plati- 
num, no solders being used. The wire is a seamless ingot, 
hollow, of platinum, into which is inserted the nickel. 
This metal will work up into almost any shape and the wire 
may be drawn to any thickness or rolled flat and worked 
into knife-edge wire without exposing the nickel centre. 

Ordinarily the platinum-faced sheet is 25 per cent plati- 
num, costing about $80 per ounce, and the wire 30 per 
cent platinum, at about $85 an ounce. The specific grav- 
ity of pure platinum being 21.6, with the above sheet 10.4 
and the wire 10.8, you get about twice the number of 
square inches per ounce of wire and slightly more in sheet. 
Users of this plated stock can exchange the clean scrap 
for new plate at a reasonable cost per ounce. If the jew- 
eler so desires he can recover the platinum by putting in 
nitric acid, which eats off the nickel: Should the acid 
not seem to be working, — if no action, bubbling or effer- 
vescence soon shows,— carefully add muriatic acid. In 
this case do not add more than is necessary to start dis- 
solving, as you have now made aqua regia, and in the 
proportion of about 3 parts muriatic to i part nitric, it 
will attack the platinum itself. There is practically no 
danger of this happening, however, until all of the nickel 
has first been dissolved. Use chemically pure acids. 
In the matter of platinum filings do not attempt any- 
thing with them. You will be better off by sending to 
the refiner. 



♦Since publishing the first edition of "How to Make Jewelry," a specially made 
platinum melting furnace has been put on the market by the Jewelers Technical 
Advice Co., of New York. 



104 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



It has been found that 20 per cent of iridium is about 
the maximum quantity that may be melted with pure 
platinum to give it hardness. More than this makes the 
metal too brittle, scaly, and extremely difficult to work, 
roll or draw into wire, etc. In ordering it is advisable to 
get it as near the size you want it for as possible, espe- 
cially in the case of the wire. This extra hard platinum 
is used in snap pieces, stiffening or brace parts, eyes for 
eyeglasses and spectacles. A 15 per cent or 10 per cent 
iridium platinum is also used for various purposes. The 
pure platinum should always be used in raising hollow 
work, or, in fact, any die work, and particularly for 
the setting of stones. The iridium, while it alloys with 
the platinum, seems to do so very much against its will, 
and a brittle or scaly spot will often show up, which in 
settings would be costly. 

Another point to be taken note of is that in returning 
platinum scrap for credit or exchange the refiner takes it 
as pure platinum, so that the difference between that and 
the iridium sheet, 10 per cent, 15 per cent, or 20 per cent, 
as the case may be, is a loss. With your own melting 
apparatus it is a good idea to put all your iridium scraps 
into wire, reserving the pure platinum for sheet. 

There are three platinum solders in use to-day, a hard, 
a medium, and an easy running solder. The first two are 
used in pure platinum or platinum and iridium, the last, 
or easy solder, for repairing or soldering on extra finish- 
ing parts and for the nickel-backed platinum. In using 
the others there is danger of melting the nickel, or of at 
least burning it or warping the article. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 105 



CHAPTER XXV. 



WORKING IN PLATINUM. 
Formerly Used as Diamond Setting, Demand is Growing for 
AU-PIatinum Jewelry — Soldering Gold and Platinum — 
Alloys for Hardening — ^Transferring Designs — Scroll and 
Mesh Work, Carving and Modelings-Lining Modeled 
Work — Plating with Platinum. 

PLATINUM when first used In the jewelry shops 
was employed only as a mounting or setting for 
diamonds, as the color of the metal, being a pale 
shade of blue, harmonized well with the stone. A piece 
of platinum jewelry was stiffened by the addition of a 
backing, usually of i8-karat gold; gold of lower quality 
(while sometimes used) is too hard and shows a seam 
that is hard to smooth out. Platinum will not expand or 
contract in heating, and the higher the karat quality of 
gold used, the better the joining will be. 

During the last five or six years the demand for all plati- 
num jewelry has been increasing and this has caused 
a call for a stiffer or harder alloy. Iridium is used in va- 
rious proportions to make it harder, a 10 per cent alloy 
being the most generally used, although for some work 
20 per cent of this metal is the proportion. All the fancy 
lace or mesh work is sawed out of the 10 per cent qual- 
ity. Parts that are to be set are of pure platinum, while 
the knife-edge wires — as stems for leaves, flowers, etc., 
spring parts for hair ornaments, and ring shanks — are 
made out of a 20 per cent iridium alloy. 

To be a successful worker in platinum one must have 
some knowledge of drawing. The designer may furnish 
you with a tracing from the design, but in transferring it 
to the metal there are plenty of chances for mistakes. 
This, in a sense, is obviated by having the engraver lay it 
out for' you, which, of course, is leaning too much on 



io6 HOW TO MAKE- JEWELRY. 



others. Better make an effort to do all this yourself. 
Get good tracing paper, "Vellum" and "Parchment A" 
are both good, and may be gotten from Favor, Ruhl Co., 
52 Park Place, New York. Place on your design and 
mark carefully, using a 3H Hardtmuth pencil. Some 
jewelers paste the tracing directly on the platinum, and 
others prefer to place a piece of carbon paper between 
and go over tracing with a 6H pencil, thus getting a car- 
bon drawing on the metal. The writer advocates the lat- 
ter method. In the case of fine lace or interwoven ef- 
fects, where fine hair lines of mesh work are used, the 
only sure way is to have it outlined for you by an en- 
graver, or also learn to do this yourself. 

Small leaf and scroll work are cut out of from 150 to 
1 70 points thickness of stock in the dial screw gauge, and 
mesh work out of about 80 points. Where a gold back 
is used the platinum is usually just a little thicker than 
the gold, so that in a leaf of 170 points we use about 100 
platinum and 70 gold. In making work requiring any 
carving or modeling, thicker stock, of course, must be 
used. In this case the work is carved and also hollowed 
out from the back and punched or dapped up; the hol- 
lowed-out parts being thinner, will allow for modeling. 
Take, for instance, a horse. This is sawed out of about 
200 points stock and after being filed up and the head, 
shoulder, barrel and flank indicated, the parts that are to 
show high from the front are now hollowed out from the 
back, using a pair of calipers or a spring gauge to avoid 
getting stock too thin, then placed on a lead block and 
punched up with assorted sizes and shapes of hardened 
steel punches. 

As a great deal of platinum jewelry is still being made 
with gold lining or backing, it will be interesting to the 
young worker to know how a gold lining is put inside a 
dog's head or a lizard or other animal, which is all plati- 
num, from the front and sides. The outline is first cut 
out, usually from a brass pattern, and modeled up, using 
the punches and lead block, then a bezel of fairly thick 
stock is bent up and soldered on, using the hardest plat- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 107 



inum solder. Now cut up small pellets of gold and 
lay in carefully, charge on solder and well sweat. After 
boiling out in pickle, smooth the surface with riffle files. 
These files are made out of shad-belly needle files by 
heating the ends red hot, curving with round-nosed pliers, 
then heat again and harden in water. The temper may 
be drawn a little. Other good riffles are made out of 
flat, also round needle files. The turnover effect seen on 
large work, as lizards, is gotten by rounding the bezel, 
first filing off, slanting the lower inside edge before sol- 
dering the bezel to the front. Another way is to saw out 
a back of gold, the outline of the front and dap it up 
well, solder on an extra plate for an inside edge after the 
"daylight" opening is sawed out. 

The skillful artisan on platinum, and, indeed, on fine 
hand-made gold jewelry, is a combination of designer, 
modeler, engraver, and jeweler. In large shops where 
these various workmen are employed there is not the 
opportunity that obtains in some of the small "cockroach 
garrets" of New York, and some really fine jewelers are 
found in these small workrooms, earning big wages and 
held in high esteem by their employers. There are also 
foreign jewelers who come to New' York. These have 
worked in Paris, London, Vienna, and other jewelry cen- 
ters, and some of them are very fine workmen. They 
are oftentimes very independent and shiftless, and are 
usually globe trotters. Those that do stick, however, are 
very valuable to their employers, as they bring new ideas 
with them that the American jeweler is quick to get onto. 

Platinum some thirty-five years ago sold at $6 an 
ounce, and is now bringing around $155 an ounce, but the 
price seems to have no deterrent effect on its use in con- 
nection with the making of fine jewelry. As a setting for 
a diamond it has no equal, for it is tenacious and lasting 
and enhances the tints of the stone. Gradually other 
stones came to be set in platinum, but outside of the 
sapphire it is not considered good taste to wear them. 
Sometimes in made-over goods the large diamonds are re- 
moved and rubies or other stones substituted. The ef- 



io8 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



feet, however, is not pleasing. The dull or frosted effect 
on some goods is produced by the sandblast, using a fine 
flint. A good satin finish is also obtained by the steel 
scratch-brush on a rapidly revolving lathe, holding a piece 
of thin steel against the ends of the brush so as to let the 
points strike an "end on" mark in the platinum. 

There is a loss of about 30 per cent in working plat- 
inum, as against not over 5 per cent in gold work. Then, 
again, it is hard to refine platinum and gold filings and to 
separate same. Where the scrap metal is sent to the 
refiner for exchange or remelt, a charge of $1.50 an ounce 
is made. 

The price of platinum making that metal too expensive 
as a mounting for other than fine diamond work, there is 
a demand for 14-karat jewelry with a platinum finish. 
After some experimenting it has been found that an alka- 
line platinum solution can be made that will deposit a 
fairly durable coating of the metal with the use of the 
electric current, as in regular gilding. 

The following solution has been tried (among others) 
and is recommended: Take three pennyweights of plat- 
inum, — the regular soft stock, not hard or iridium plati- 
num, — roll as thin as possible, then cut in small pieces 
and twist and curl up as well as you can so that the acid 
can attack it readily; put in flask, pour over solution of 
three ounces muriatic acid C. P., and one ounce nitric 
acid C. P., and place on sand bath. Platinum does not 
dissolve as easily as gold, but leave it on the sand until 
it does, being careful that the sand does not get too hot 
so as to run risk of breaking the flask and losing some of 
the platinum. If, after the acids have become heated, 
there is no bubbling or effervescence, add a little more 
muriatic acid. 

Right here the writer cautions against using any but 
chemically pure acids put up in glass-stoppered bottles at 
the chemical works. Certain supply houses have made 
it a practice of bottling from carboys; the writer has been 
up against this to his sorrow. Always keep bottle stop- 
pered, closing up instantly after using; even then a gallon 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 109 

bottle of acid will get weak at the end and necessitate 
using more in proportion. However, do not worry if 
platinum does not dissolve in one or two hours; it some- 
times takes ten or fifteen hours. 

When dissolved, let it evaporate to thick syrup, let it 
cool, add a half-pint of distilled water; evaporate almost 
to dryness, then put in clean stoppered bottle and label 
it chloride of platinum, adding enough distilled water to 
make two liquid ounces. To make the bath take one 
ounce of the chloride and mix in a solution of one quart 
of water containing 25 pennyweights of table salt; stir 
well with glass rod, then add, drop by drop, a solution of 
one stick of caustic soda (by alcohol) in half-pint of 
water, until the solution turns red litmus paper blue. 
Bath is now ready to be put in tank for heating. Use 
platinum anode as a means of current connections only, 
as the only platinum deposited is that in the solution, and 
must be renewed and made over as often as necessary. 
To get the best results an article should be polished, then 
scratch-brushed, dipped in caustic soda or potash solu- 
tion and hung in bath, using copper wire; the current 
should be three or four volts ; after five to ten minutes re- 
move and scratch-brush, place it in again, take out, 
scratch-brush and burnish with a bloodstone burnisher; 
then give the article another dip of about ten minutes, 
when it may be burnished again and soft rouged. If de- 
sired, the burnishing may be omitted, but the coating 
will, of course, not be as durable. 

In the case of a fancy chain composed of enamel orna- 
ments connected by platinum links, the gold edges, rings, 
etc., not covered by the enamel can be plated in the above 
bath, thus giving an all-platinum and enamel effect to the 
chain. Articles with smooth surfaces, like lockets, handy 
pins, belt and bar pins, where the burnisher can be used 
to advantage, present a rich and lasting finish after the 
rouging. 

A palladium solution has been recently introduced, 
made as follows: i — ^Water, 8 ounces, 26% ammonia, 



HO HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



I ounce; 2 — Phosphate of soda, 4 ounces, water, i quart; 
3 — Benzoic acid, 3^ pennyweights; 4 — Water, i pint. 

Dissolve 2y2 pennyweights of palladium same as 
platinum, and after evaporating almost to dryness add 
one-half ounce distilled water, or a little more if neces- 
sary to dissolve well, and warm. Now warm solution 
No. I and add. Then No. 2 is added. Boil for a short 
time until all odor of ammonia has disappeared and the 
solution has become clear. To this is now added No. 3, 
and finally No. 4. 

Heat to 120° F., use i to 2 volts with a carbon anode. 
Work must be polished bright and clean and the deposit 
will be slightly lighter in tone than platinum, but takes 
a beautiful polish and luster. It is largely used in place 
of platinum on account of a brighter deposit being had 
in crevices and places difficult to get at in the final 
polishing. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. in 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



WORKING IN PLATINUM (CONTINUED). 
Skilled Labor and Waste of Material Make Platinum Orna- 
ments Expensive — Some Designs That May be Made and 
Marketed at Low Cost — How to Reduce Shop Cost to 
a Minimum. 

THE most expensive platinum jewelry is sawn out 
of one piece; bezels, gallery, and the connections 
on the back, of course, excepted. Where there is 
a lot of detail, mesh effect, veining, lines, etc., this is 
necessary. It makes a fine piece of work, but is high 
priced, the nature and construction of the article calling 
for skilled artistic labor as well as considerable loss in 
metal. It is estimated that there is fully thirty per cent 
loss in platinum filings, and jewelers making fine plati- 
num work get big wages as compared with the average 
man working in a gold factory. 

i The great popularity of platinum and the subsequent 
decline of the sale of fine gold jewelry has prompted the 
better class of gold manufacturers to make a low-priced 
line of platinum goods, using similar methods in the pro- 
duction as obtain in the gold line. The finest shops in 
New York have no machinery or presses. Outside of a 
couple of pairs of rolls and two or three drill lathes, the 
equipment is all hand labor. One maker on Fifth ave- 
nue uses in his work several thousand small leaves for 
wreaths, sprays, etc., in a year, all hand made. A small 
foot press would cut these out at a trifling expense and 
more accurately, to say nothing of the clean scrap left. 
This man knows all this, but will not entertain any ma- 
chine proposition. On the other hand, the gold shops 
being equipped with all labor-saving devices, employ 
them in making platinum goods. Their jewelers are 
trained to make work at a price, hence a compara- 



112 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



f ■ 








/, 






.„..--«•' 




r 


















e^ 
















:--€:-f* 


GC-STOvtRcroW 







tively popular priced line of platinum jewelrj'^ can be 
made. 

The writer remembers one case in point. A New York 
house made a platinum horse mounting, and charged a 
price double that of a Newark gold concern which had a 
line of horse dies out of which they had raised quantities 
of gold goods. With the die a horse was raised in a few 
minutes, the hand mounting taking something like fif- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



113 




teen hours to make. In spite of this fact, the New York 
maker will keep on making and selling hand mountings. 
The illustrations shown herewith are original designs, 
which can be made of plate and wire. The plate or flat 
stock may be made as thin as 120 points in the dial screw 
gauge, and the wire is at least 10 per cent iridium (15 or 
20 per cent is better, stiffer), and drawn down round 
and rolled flat. The collets, tubes, or hollow wire for 



114 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



the diamonds may be bought ready made or cut off from 
lengths of seamless tubing. 

The pearls in Fig. i are connected by eyes bent on ends 
of wire passing through pearl and closed tightly. The 
large ornament is sawn out of one piece, leaving it slightly 
thicker at lower curves until after the center wires are 
soldered in. The ornaments connecting the ends of fes- 
toon are bent of wire and the end piece for the stone 
carefully let in. Fig. 2 shows a simple and effective 
lavalliere, and can be easily made by a good jeweler. 

Fig. 3 is a frame of scrolls and leaves first soldered 
together and the center applied. The half-circles are 
simply rings cut in two and the leaves and flower can be 
cut out in almost any jewelry shop where they make 
flower work and have cutters. Fig. 4 shows a "spready" 
pendant. The opal may be set by a few beads or an 18- 
karat bezel carefully let in the platinum cluster. 




Making platinum jewelry in this manner, the gold 
shops are enabled to place on the market fine diamond 
work that stands up well and the low cost will make the 
sale. The maker is getting the use of his tools, dies, etc., 
and his men get the work. These low-priced platinum 
lines, to still further reduce cost of labor, are also gotten 
out in gold, set with pearls, etc., and where a man makes 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



115 




a dozen or more pieces of same pattern the labor is re- 
duced to a minimum as compared with that of getting 
out one piece only of a design. 



ii6 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



RECOVERY OF GOLD AND SILVER FROM SCRAP. 
Melting the Refinings — Most Satisfactory Method of Re- 
melting to Secure Fine Gold — Small Quantities Im- 
practical — Separating Silver and Gold — Metalizing Sil- 
ver — Not Advisable to Do Sweep Smelting in Factory — 
Recovery of Gold and Silver from Old Solutions. 

COLLECT the bench filings, old gold, solder scraps, 
in fact, everything that is not clean scrap of 
known karat quality, and spread out well in a 
paper on a bench. Take a magnet of good size and 
strength (if you have an old-timer and pretty weak, it will 
pay you to throw it away and get a new one), and go 
through thoroughly. The iron wire, scales from files, etc., 
that will adhere to the magnet will also have some gold 
dust clinging, so after gently tapping the magnet to loosen 
as much as possible of the gold, the iron is brushed into a 
can or iron box for further treatment. 

Now take the refinings, and, after picking out the 
larger pieces of scrap, place the dust in a large iron fry- 
ing pan and burn over your gas furnace, placing a piece 
of sheet iron over as a cover to prevent any of the dust 
from blowing away ; upon cooling, put all your gold for 
refining in a scales, weigh, and add an equal amount of 
flux. Now put it in a crucible, a safety crucible is cheap- 
est in the long run, and should be previously warmed; 
do not fill up nearer than two inches from the top, and 
place in furnace; as the mass gets heated it will rise; 
when it threatens to spill over, throw in a little table 
salt, which causes it to settle again. After the mass has 
ceased to rise, and, in fact, is gradually settling lower in 
the crucible, it should be left in furnace for at least an 
hour and a quarter for a two-pound melt (one pound 
lemel refinings, and one pound flux). 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 117 



Now lift out of furnace, after turning off gas and allow- 
ing to cool a little, and place away to cool. Do not 
break the crucible until you are sure the mass is solid, 
then smash and break off the slag, and a button of gold 
will be found ready for refining. The writer knows of 
jewelers who at this stage remelt the button in the regu- 
lar black lead crucible, and, after pouring in wire or flat 
ingot, as case may be, roll out and cut a piece out of cen- 
ter, test it to get karat quahty, and then add gold or alloy 
to raise or lower to karat desired. This method is not 
advocated, as it is more or less guess work, and the result- 
ant alloy is not alwa^'-s the same, sometimes paler or 
redder, and so on. The button usually is from one-half 
to one karat finer than before melting, so that in a fac- 
tory making lo-karat jewelry it should be from 10^- 
karats to 11 -karats, and sometimes better still; in a shop 
making 14-karat and better, it should be anywhere from 
14^-karats to i6-karats fine. The reason for this is that 
the Guinea alloy and some of the copper also is burnt out 
with the lead, traces of iron, brass and other metals, so 
that we only have the fine gold and silver to get out of 
the button, the small amount of copper remaining not 
being worth considering in the calculations. We will pre- 
sume we have a button of 15-karat gold, weighing 400 
pennyweights, and right here would say that, unless for 
special reasons, would not advise refining less than 500 
pennyweights of lo-karat or 11 -karat, or 350 to 400 pen- 
nyweights of 14-karat quality. It is just as cheap and as 
easy to refine 1,000 or 1,200 pennyweights as less. 

The writer has found it good practice to run down a 
button of around 300 pennyweights and place it away 
until he gets four buttons of about the same weight. We 
now take our 400-penny weight button of 15-karat 
quality and figure out how much fine gold we have in the 
button. Knowing that 15-karat is M or ^ fine gold, we 
simply take ^i of 400, and 250 pennyweights of fine gold 
is the result, the remaining ^^, or 150 pennyweights, 
being the silver. Fine gold is best recovered from silver 
in the proportion of 3 of silver to i of gold, so that to the 



Ii8 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



button we add 600 pennyweights of silver, this with the 
150 pennyweights already in the button making 750 
pennyweights of silver to 250 pennyweights of fine gold. 
As a matter of fact, it is actually a little less, as some of 
the 150 pennyweights is copper, but, as we said before, 
not enough to bother about. Now having gotten our 
proportions right, we remelt all in a black lead crucible 
(no fluxes at all), and when thoroughly mixed pour into 
a large pan or tub, iron, copper or porcelain, full of water 
and rapidly stirred jWith a broom handle by an assistant. 
The higher the crucible is held from the water the better 
the granulation (my melter stands on a stool). If the 
melting and subsequent pouring is properly carried out 
the receptacle will contain a spongy mass, in which the 
gold will be seen streaked in the silver. Now pour off 
water, turn the residue into a porcelain evaporating 
dish or bowl, and place on a sand bath in a forge or under 
a chimney or flue, with a good draft to carry ofT the acid 
fumes. The writer uses a specially prepared "parting 
acid" supplied by manufacturing chemists. Add the 
acid carefully, as too much on the start will cause a 
violent action and some of the gold is apt to be spilled 
over and lost. 

The gold will now be separated from the silver and 
thrown down, looking like brown mud in the bottom of 
the dish. Keep pouring off the dead acid, which will 
contain the silver, into a large crock, or equally divide it 
in a number of crocks if the melt is large — about four 
crocks for 1,200 to 1,500 pennyweights of silver. When 
the acid ceases to bubble or effervesce, and shows no 
action after stirring with a glass rod, pour off carefully 
and add fresh acid; keep stirring at intervals with the 
glass rod, as the silver forms a dense nitrate and prevents- 
the acid from working. As the silver is finally dissolved 
in the acid, and the gold is all precipitated, wash thor- 
oughly with hot water, then add a pickle of sulphuric 
acid and water in proportion of one part acid and nine 
parts water; place on sand bath again and let it thor- 
oughly clean the gold. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 119 



If the above directions are carefully followed you 
should have, after the pickle has been poured off and 
the gold washed and dried, a rich, clean, golden brown 
powder which, when shoveled carefully into a crucible 
and melted, will result in a bar of pure 24-karat gold, 
ready to be alloyed to whatever karat is desired. No 
flux is used in the melting of the fine gold, and, while it 
may be granulated if desired, the writer finds it more prac- 
tical to cast it into the bar ingot and roll down to about 
the thickness of a ten-cent piece, cutting into squares 
for alloying. 

To recover the silver, add a large lot of water to your 
crock or crocks, stir well, throw in four or five cupfuls 
of salt, and let it stand over night; next day take a test- 
ing glass, procured at any chemical supply house, put in 
some of the liquid and add a solution of salt and water; 
if no white powder (chloride of silver) settles, it shows 
that the silver is all in bottom of crock. An excess of 
salt will do no harm. Now pour off the liquid and put 
the silver into a large wash basin; wash well with sev- 
eral changes of hot, and, finally, one of cold water; mix 
a solution of sulphuric acid and water as before, and 
cover over the silver, then drop in a few pieces of scrap 
sheet iron and let it stand a couple of days, mixing occa- 
sionally. This is called metalizing the silver, and is 
necessary, for if the silver were placed in a crucible after 
precipitation by the salt, by reason of the finely divided 
state it is in, it would go through the crucible and also 
evaporate and be lost. 

When the silver is almost black all through, it is again 
well washed, dried, and mixed with about one-quarter 
its weight with the same flux used in the refining of the 
button, placed in a large sand crucible (previously 
warmed) and melted as a button. Cool, break and 
recover the button, then remelt, granulate or cast in bar 
form as desired, and pure, bright, clean silver should re- 
sult. There are other methods of metalizing, such as. 
zinc, caustic potash and sugar, hanging in pieces of cop- 
per in the crocks, etc., but the writer has found the irort 



120 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



treatment, after all the silver has been thrown down by 
the salt, as the most practical and expedient. 

A sand bath can be readily made out of sheet iron; 
one about eighteen inches square and about three inches 
deep will be large enough for all operations; rivet four 
strips on for legs, fill with cheap sand, and place over 
an ordinary hot plate gas burner. 

Some manufacturers, working in a small way, with 
whom the writer has been connected, send their buttons 
to the United States Assay Office, receiving therefrom a 
check for the gold and silver recovered, less charge for 
refining, or, if preferred, the fine gold in brick form, and 
a check for the silver. The only reason I have been able 
to find for doing this is a lack of technical knowledge, as 
the assay office does not refine at a loss, and, further- 
more, there is often an interval of two weeks before a 
report is made. Even the small manufacturer has an 
equipment for melting, with a man who can be trained 
in the handling of the acids, washing out, etc., and the 
extra expense of a carboy or parting acid with a few 
safety crucibles is trivial. The writer has collected the 
lemel, run into a button, granulated, refined, melted, and 
gotten the fine gold (as high as 900 pennyweights) in less 
than two days, all ready for alloying over again. The 
silver, of course, may be recovered at your convenience 
in time for the next refining. 

In the matter of attempting to get the gold and silver 
from the polishing room sweepings, hand washings, rins- 
ings, etc., the writer advises allowing sweep smelters and 
refiners to come in and bid on the work, as the cost of a 
sweep reduction furnace, and the time spent in reducing 
large bulk for the little percentage of gold is too great 
to be maintained in single factories. 

A point well worth keeping in mind is, that in a fac- 
tory where precious metals are being handled, no waste 
should be thrown out; all paper, rags, old aprons and 
other inflammable material should be burned in a large 
iron pot in the forge, and the ashes deposited in a bin or 
other metal can or box; old crucibles should also be 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 121 



saved, no matter how clean they may look; the writer 
once got 50 pennyweights of 14-karat gold out of an 
apparently clean lot of old broken crucibles that had 
lain in a box probably for years, and through carelessness 
in charging the melts to the melter and reweighing after 
melting, had been lost sight of. 

To recover the gold and silver from old cyanide solu- 
tions, put all together in one large crock; then get some 
pieces of zinc, say three or four ounces, roll them out thin, 
scrape clean and bright, and coil or twist it up well, then 
drop in the crock; stir occasionally during the day, let- 
ting it remain over night, when gold will all be deposited 
on the zinc. The liquid may now be poured off through 
the regular rinsing and the zinc well washed with clean 
water; now make a solution of commercial sulphuric 
acid one part and water nine parts, about a pint in all, 
and pour over the zinc, which has been placed in an 
evaporating bowl; in a short time the zinc will all be 
taken up in the solution and the gold, silver, copper, etc., 
will be precipitated as a muddy sediment; this is well 
washed, dried and mixed in with filings and other scraps 
for refining. 

After recovering the fine gold from the refinings and 
you wish to test the gold to see whether there is still any 
trace of silver left, take a few pennyweights, dissolve in 
two parts of muriatic and one part nitric acid, and the 
silver, if any, will be precipitated as a powder in bot- 
tom of flask. The gold may be recovered by largely 
diluting with water and throwing in a handful of sulphate 
of iron (copperas); this will throw down the gold, 
when it may be washed, dried and melted, as a button 
of pure gold. Zinc will recover gold from all cyanide 
solutions, and sulphate of iron from all acid ones. 



122 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



REFINING POLISHING SWEEPS. 

Use of the Magnet — Separating the Silver — Recovering 
Platinum — Precipitating the Gold — Metals Recovered 
Are Commercially Pure — Use Caution in All Work with 
Acids. 

THE refining of filings and polishing sweeps is not a 
difficult operation, but to obtain the proper 
results it requires careful and close attention. 
The average shop can get out nearly the whole value if 
these details are followed : 

Spread out filings on a large piece of paper and go 
through carefully with a pair of tweezers to get any solid 
pieces of gold or platinum, then sift well through a strong 
steel magnet. Speaking of magnets, see that there is 
plenty of strength; do not use an old one that may have 
been in the factory a number of years and be played out. 
Having gotten a good one, always keep a piece of steel on 
the two ends to keep the magnetism from running out. 
In passing the magnet through, small atoms of gold and 
platinum will adhere to the iron or steel filings. These 
may be put into an old pickle crock (sulphuric acid and 
water), which will eat the iron or steel and precipitate 
the precious metals. When a sufficient quantity is recov- 
ered these filings are placed with the others for separat- 
ing. If a lot of oily waste, buffs, etc., are in the stuff to 
be refined, the mass should be put into an iron pot or 
large iron frying pan and burned out over a gas plate 
before putting magnet through. 

After separation place in a large evaporating porcelain 
dish, and to every ounce of filings add 3 ounces of chem- 
ically pure muriatic acid and i ounce of nitric acid. 
While any quantity of filings may be treated, yet it hardly 
pays to put less than 20 ounces through at a time. If 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 123 

filings are largely gold, the acids, which are previously 
mixed in the proper proportions, should be added slowly 
and a little at a time, or a rapid action would result in the 
mixture rising and spilling over the edge, thereby losing 
some of the metals. The dish should be placed on a sand 
bath over a gas plate burner and should be kept hot. A 
glass funnel may be placed over dish to prevent loss. 
When all is dissolved, which may be ascertained by stir- 
ring with a glass rod, turn off gas and let cool. Then 
pour into large crock in which are ten or fifteen quarts 
of rain or distilled water, or water which has been boiled 
and cooled. Let stand a few hours, or until next day, 
and a precipitate will be found on bottom of crock. This 
is chloride of silver. 

Carefully siphon liquid into another crock, or pass 
through a funnel with filtering paper to recover any par- 
ticles of silver which may be still in the liquid; mix up 
about 20 ounces (for 20 ounces of refinings) of fresh 
powdered sal ammoniac in a little water, pour in liquid 
and stir well. In a few hours the platinum will be found 
on the bottom of the crock. The liquid is siphoned off 
into a fresh clean crock, filtered to recover any further 
traces of platinum, and with the precipitate well dried 
and subsequently melted in the regular furnace. 

The gold is recovered from the liquid by adding about 
an equal bulk of water and dissolving about 20 ounces 
of sulphate of iron (green copperas) in a little water, 
add and stir thoroughly. Let stand for a few hours, 
pour or siphon off liquid, and the gold will be found 
deposited in bottom of crock in the form of a muddy 
brown sediment. This is collected, dried and melted in 
regular crucible. The liquid will contain traces of all the 
metals, also the copper used in alloying, so should be 
poured into sink for further recovery by the refiner. The 
metals recovered this way are not chemically pure, only 
commercially so, and are used in the general run of 
jewelry manufacturing. It is safe to assume that in the 
melting of the platinum all traces of silver, copper, etc., 
are destroyed, as the high temperature would cause these 



124 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



metals to volatilize so that the only probable metal re- 
maining would be iridium. Sometimes this metal is not 
dissolved and is thrown down with the silver. To sep- 
arate, dissolve the silver in nitric acid only, dilute well 
with water, and hang in a few pieces of copper, old boil- 
ing-out pans will (do, and in a day or two the silver will 
be thrown down, when it may be dried and melted with 
a little borax. The iridium, trace of platinum, etc., not 
being attacked and dissolved by the nitric acid, are re- 
covered from bottom of crock and melted. 

If all details are carefully carried out, the average 
shop can get out its own filings. In mixing and adding 
filings to acids in the first operation, the acids must be 
well heated before action, especially on platinum, takes 
place. The acids may be put in dish first, well heated, 
and the filings sifted in, a little at a time, stirring well 
with a glass rod, so that metals are constantly exposed to 
the acid. The amounts of sal ammoniac and copperas 
(20 ounces each) are for about a like weight of the met- 
als and should, of course, be reduced or increased in pro- 
portion. All work with acids should be done in a sepa- 
rate room or where there is large chimney to carry off 
fumes. 

Some refiners use oxalic acid in place of the sal ammo- 
niac; the results are the same. To be sure of getting 
strength it is best to buy sal ammoniac in lump form and 
pulverize it in a mortar as required. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



125 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



TILTRATION OF WASHINGS. 
The Filter Press, Cloth Screens and Excelsior Packing — A 
Practical and Economical System — The Use of Copperas 
— Lead Cylinders in Place of Tile for Enameling Shops 
— A Reckless Habit — Recovery from Solutions. 

SINKS and tanks, barrels or other apparatus for 
washing purposes, and the subsequent recovery 
of the precious metals naturally engage the atten- 
tion of jewelry workers. There are a number of methods 
in work to-day, including the filter press — a system of 
pumping the water through a series of canvas bags, 
pressed together to exclude the water, after which the 
bags are opened and the residue removed for refining. 
Another means is that in which a large tank is fitted with 
a number of cheese-cloth screens to catch all particles 
as the water slowly passes through; still another way 
consists of packing the bottoms of the tanks or barrels 
with excelsior, keeping the feed pipes near the bottom 
of each so that the fluid is filtered through. 

The drawing shown herewith, whereby three kero- 
sene or oil barrels (whiskey barrels will also do) are 




Sink for Filtering Washings. 



126 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



fitted with ordinary drain tile pipes in which the water 
washings pass through lead pipes from the sink at A, 
and into the sewer at B, is, while not a new idea, as 
good as any method, and is practical and economical. 

It is well known that nearly all the gold and silver 
passes into the sink in the form of filings, or very fine 
particles. Now these are mixed with soap, grease, etc., 
and are too light to sink, consequently, unless forced to 
the bottom of each barrel, they float on the surface, 
passing from barrel to barrel, and are eventually lost. 
Now all particles being mixed with the Water and acid 
and having gained a pressure downward, will nearly 
always stay at the bottom, it being more difficult for a 
particle, no matter how light, to rise than to fall. 

No sawdust, sand or other like matter should ever be 
put in sinks. Sulphate of iron (copperas) should be 
put in the barrels from time to time, or a small bunch 
of binding wire (iron) will do. The reason for this is 
that in case gold or silver solutions are poured in the 
sink, either by accident or otherwise, the iron will take 
up the acid and precipitate the precious metal. Then 
again there may be particles of gold, or even large 
pieces, left in the sink and gradually washed into the 
barrel, and at different times, nitric, muriatic or sul- 
phuric acids poured in, having a tendency to form aqua 
regia and dissolve the gold or, in case of nitric acid, the 
silver. If the iron were not present, this would all pass 
into the sewer in solution. 

In an enameling plant lead cylinders should be used 
instead of the drain tiles, as the hydrofluoric acid used 
in etching the enamel would also dissolve the tiles. 

Now it is a reckless and foolish habit some jewelers 
have of pouring all old solutions containing gold and 
silver into the sink, then allowing a few gallons of water 
to run in to "thin it out." By reason of the sudden 
influx some of the solution is bound to be forced through 
before the iron has a chance. All cyanide solutions 
should be poured into a large crock, acid solutions in 
another, and at suitable periods the metals therein 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 127 

recovered as described in other chapters. Those jew- 
elers doing business in localities not having sewer con- 
nection may recover everything by allowing the waste 
waters to run into a "soak away" or cistern without a 
bottom. 

A good sink is also made by connecting each barrel 
with lead piping about a foot from . the bottom and 
having the last discharge pipe near the top of the bar- 
rel. It should be mentioned that in the case of the filter 
press the liquor is first neutralized by mixing lime and 
water and adding before starting the pump. Alum in 
powdered form is also added if the washings do not 
clean up sufficiently for filtering. 



128 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



TESTING FOR PURE GOLD. 

Acid Testing Solution — Dissolution and Evaporation of the 
Metal — Elimination of Silver a Bug-a-boo — Precipitat- 
ing the Platinum by Sal Ammoniac — For Chemically 
Pure Gold — Process Used at United States Mints. 

A SOLUTION of I ounce of C. P. nitric acid and 
4 drams of muriatic acid will turn 22-karat gold 
a dirty yellow, 20-karat gold, brown, and 18- 
karat, or lower, black. This testing acid should be kept 
in a glass-stoppered bottle. The only safe and reliable 
test for 24-karat or pure gold, is to roll the metal as thin 
as possible, cut into little squares, crinkle it well, so that 
the acid will attack it easily, and place in a long-necked 
German flask. 

Get the weight of the gold to be tested and to every 
ounce of the metal add 6 ounces of C. P. nitric acid and 
muriatic acid mixed in the proportions of 2 ounces nitric 
to 4 of muriatic. To hasten the action of the acid, place 
the flask on a sand bath over a gas heater out of doors, 
or in a forge where the poisonous vapors are carried off. 
An ordinary porcelain dish will answer for the dissolving 
and subsequent evaporating, but the long-necked flask is 
more conveniently handled and the risk of foreign mat- 
ter getting in the solution is greatly lessened. 

In a short time the gold will all be dissolved, the lead, 
tin, copper, and other baser metals will be destroyed, 
while the silver, if any, will be found in the bottom as a 
white, pasty mass. The elimination of the silver in the 
refining is the bug-a-boo that the jeweler has to look out 
for, as in the reduction of the lemel (bench filings, scraps, 
old gold, etc.) silver is largely used, as explained in pre- 
ceding chapters. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 129 



To resume, the liquid, after cooling, is poured off care- 
fully, — leaving the silver chloride in the bottom of dish 
for further treatment for remelting, — then placed again 
on the sand bath and evaporated almost to dryness ; let it 
cool and add several times its bulk of clean, cold water. 
If you have three or four ounces of pure gold in work, 
the solution should be poured into a large crock with a 
capacity of from four to five gallons. Better have an 
excess of water, as the acid is thinned out more. A little 
caustic soda or potash may now be added, to further 
weaken or kill the acid and render the task of precipitat- 
ing the gold much easier. 

To precipitate the gold from the solution. a couple of 
handfuls of sulphate of iron is thrown in; stir well with 
a glass rod, let stand for a few hours, and the gold will 
be found on the bottom of the vessel as a dark brown 
mass. If you have reason to believe that there is plati- 
num in the gold, a strong solution of sal ammoniac should 
be stirred in before the gold is thrown down with the 
iron. The sal ammoniac will precipitate the platinum 
and of course the gold solution is poured into another 
vessel before using the sulphate of iron. The gold mass 
should be washed several times with hot water and finally 
with cold, and then treated to a bath of i part sulphuric 
acid in 9 parts of water, again well washed and dried. 
The gold should now present a rich golden brown color 
of about the fineness of flour of emery and should con- 
tain no lumps. Place in a crucible and remelt, and a but- 
ton of pure gold will result. 

It would hardly pay to put a few pennyweights of pure 
gold to the foregoing test, and sometimes gold that is in 
doubt as to its being absolutely 24-karat is scraped a 
little and touched with a glass stopper which has been 
kept in a bottle containing a testing acid of 4 drams of 
C. P. nitric acid to 8 drams of C. P. muriatic. The 
presence of silver is detected by a whitish spot showing, 
which is soon turned black under the action of the sul- 
phur in the air. The presence of silver cannot easily be 



130 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

seen in a small surface, however, as the amount is al- 
most infinitesimally small. 

To get chemically pure gold of an average purity of 
999.96 parts of gold per 1,000, the fine gold is dissolved 
as above, excess of acid driven off, and alcohol and potas- 
sium chloride, or sal ammoniac, added to precipitate 
traces of platinum. The chloride of gold is then diluted 
with distilled water in the proportion of half an ounce to 
the gallon, when the solution is allowed to stand three 
weeks. Syphon ofif carefully and add oxalic acid in crys- 
tals from time to time, until the solution is colorless, the 
precipitation of the gold toward the end being aided by 
a gentle heat. The gold is now in a spongy mass, and is 
well washed repeatedly with C. P. muriatic acid, distilled 
water, ammonia water, and lastly with distilled water. 
It is then melted in a crucible with a little pure bisul- 
phate of potash and borax, and poured in a stone mould. 

The process now in use in most of the mints in the 
United States for producing pure gold, is called the 
Wohlwill process, and is an electrolytic one. Briefly 
described, ordinary 24-karat fine gold is used as cathode 
and anode, and these are suspended in a solution in which 
a quantity of free muriatic acid is contained. Gold is also 
dissolved in aqua regia (as already explained) and the 
chloride added to the bath. When in action the gold is 
dissolved from the anode and is deposited on the cathode 
in a spongy mass. The silver is converted into a chloride 
and either remains upon the anode as a slime or sinks as 
a sediment. Iridium and platinum do not dissolve. All 
other metals pass into the solution, and, always providing 
there is free muriatic acid, never deposit with the gold. 
The gold averages 999.8 and higher. 

These last two processes, while very interesting and 
instructive, are not practical for the average manufactur- 
ing jeweler, and if he follows the comparatively simple 
instructions given in the first formula he will get a fine 
gold that will stand any stamping law test. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 131 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



KEEPING TRACK OF GOLD. 
Much Petty Pilfering May be Prevented by Proper Methods 
in Giving Out Stock — The Average Shop Force is Cos- 
mopolitan — Temptations are Numerous — Old-Time 
Methods — Factory System Necessary and Welcomed by 
Honest Workmen. 

AT quite regular intervals we read of the arrest and 
conviction of an employee or employees of jew- 
elry factories for stealing gold, silver, or other 
precious metals. In the writer's opinion, a lot of this 
petty pilfering, often running into large amounts in the 
course of years, could be prevented if proper methods 
were used in charging work to the men and in keeping 
track of the same. 

One large house which the writer was with several 
years ago, used to hand a man a bar of gold or silver, 
telling him to cut off what he wanted, and no record 
was kept of it. This was all very well at the start, as in 
the early years of this firm's existence they had a small, 
sort of "family" force of employees, every one known 
to the other, and all honorable. As time rolled on the 
business grew, until ten, then twenty times the number 
of the original workmen were employed. Gold began 
to be missed, also silver, and eventually one of the very 
first men hired was convicted of theft. 

This firm used to maintain that they wished to put men 
on their honor. This is a very pretty sentiment, and 
might do in isolated instances or under certain condi- 
tions. The plain facts are these: Jewelers are recruited 
from all over the world. They come here, oftentimes, 
largely imbued with the idea that this country owes them 
a living, or, if born here, may nurse a real or fancied 
grievance against the foreman or the firm; some one fig- 



132 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

ures it out that he is not getting as high a wage as he 
ought, and proceeds to make up the difference in the 
most convenient way. 

An apprentice boy running errands gets wise to sHp- 
shod methods in the stockroom and filches occasionally. 
The melter abstracts a few pieces of fine gold from the 
alloy given to him to melt. Some workmen slyly take a 
piece of plate or wire from their neighbor's bench, or 
hang around until the rest have gone and clean out a few 
filings or cups. The press hand fails at times to turn in 
all of his "scrap, "and a slice may be clipped off the gild- 
ing anode now and then. A number of men start all 
right, but temptation constantly being in the way, some 
of them are bound to fall. 

The indiscriminate handing out of raw material to 
men tends to give them a low estimate as to the value of 
the metal, or at least invites carelessness in keeping track 
of it. As a rule, a man will cut off more stock than he 
actually needs for the job in hand, to allow for possible 
mistakes or accidents in rolling or drawing, etc. If he 
loses some of it he figures that the man who sweeps up 
will find it all right. 

Another old-time method which, I think, is becoming 
obsolete, is the shot system, in which lead or copper shot 
are balanced on the scales with the work and put into 
bottles labeled with the men's names. This way is not 
accurate enough; the bottles get mixed, or in one way or 
another the shot gets put into the wrong bottle, and so on. 
Another bad habit is the letting of one workman get a 
piece of stock from another, without first crediting it off 
and charging it to the last man. Sometimes a man will 
go ahead and finish his job and then tell you he got 
material from so and so to finish with. 

A newly prepared alloy of gold going to the melter 
should be weighed as soon as it comes from the ingot 
and before rolling, not because of any doubt as to the 
man's honesty, but simply as a part of factory system in 
keeping track of the metal. Shots may be left in the 
crucible, sometimes amounting to several pennyweights, 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 133 

or they may be spilled over in pouring. The gold should 
also be tested at times to see if karat fineness is up to 
standard. The writer has known of some of the brass 
weights getting into the alloy by mistake, and in the mat- 
ter previously mentioned, it was the poor acid color fin- 
ish that gave the clue which finally pointed to the melter 
as taking fine gold, thereby producing an alloy lower 
than 1 4- karat. 

As fine gold or silv^er is bought from the assay office, 
bank, or refiner, it should be charged to the factory, and 
the man who does the alloying should be advised that it is 
pretty much up to him to see that the gold account bal- 
ances each month. The scales should be tested each day, 
must be kept clean and under a glass case. The stock 
should be weighed, using weights, and should balance to 
a grain. Record is kept in a book, and should be done 
by one person. About three per cent is a reasonable 
amount to allow for loss in gold and silver, although in 
the case of mountings, cluster work, etc., ten per cent or 
more is not out of the way. 

It is a good plan to balance up each man's box every 
week. This can be done without interfering with his 
work, if the men are notified that at the most convenient 
time for them during that day, their boxes will be bal- 
anced. All honorable workmen will heartily endorse a 
system which keeps track of the precious metals. Many 
of them have at times had the unpleasant experience of 
being under suspicion. 

As a rule, the men will get together and help hunt out 
the thief for their own good. The careful weighing of 
stock, entering up and crediting off, may take a few 
moments longer, possibly resulting in the customer 
taking a later boat for Europe or Patagonia (factory men 
will recognize this threadbare dock joke), but in the long 
run the firm will be the gainers and a better class of men 
will be employed. The crooks usually go where the 
picking is the easiest. 



134 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



FIGURING SHOP COST. 
From Design to Sample Case — Details of Pin-Making Cost 
— Percentage for Shop Expense is Sometimes too Low — 
Marking the Selling Price — Make Durable Articles — 
Thin Goods Unprofitable — Weighing for Metal. 

A DESIGN having been approved by the meinbers 
of the firm, it is submitted to the salesmen for 
their approval or condemnation. In the event 
of favorable decisions and an estimate of total amount of 
first sales, a sample or pattern is usually made by hand. 
This sample is sometimes shown to certain customers, and 
their opinions asked for as to whether it will likely be 
a seller, etc., also for any criticisms as to construction 
or ideas in the design. Customers often give valuable 
suggestions as to getting up the article so as to compete 
in price with similar patterns. It having been finally 
fully approved, the sample is placed in the diemaker's 
hands and eventually reaches the toolmaker for the neces- 
sary cutters. When all dies and tools are made, an or- 
der is given to the raiser or stamper to get out a quantity 
— in first-class 14-karat factories fifty is usually the num- 
ber of the first lot. After raising in the die the goods are 
passed to the toolmaker, who puts them through the cut- 
ters for trimming, thence to the jeweler, enameler, pol- 
isher, finisher, and so on, to the carding room. 

It having been asked as to how the large manufacturers 
figure costs of making new goods, the writer gives here 
the system employed, with slight variations, by the 
leading makers of fine and lO-karat jewelry. A pattern 
book is used in which spaces are marked off. We will 
presume a pin is in process of making. The design is 
drawn very carefully in the book ; a tracing may be made 
of the original design and transferred to the book. At all 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 135 



events, be sure that the drawing will be exactly the same 
size as the finished article is to be. This will save a lot 
of subsequent trouble and annoyance, especially in the 
case of lockets or bib pirts, or anything where the dif- 
ferent sizes run close. On the right-hand side of the de- 
sign write. Gold = $3.20, and in column form add — 
Raising $.10, Making $.60, Enamehng$.30, Polishing $.10 
and Coloring $.10, making joint and catch $.03 (or pat- 
ent catch if used), setting $.90, half-pearls $1.20, finishing 
$.20. To these figures from fifteen to twenty per cent 
of the total is added for shop expenses. 

In small shops, where the non-producing force is small, 
the foreman doing the melting and raising, and in some 
cases helping out in other departments, ten per cent for 
shop expenses is put on. This is an unwise procedure, 
as all shops figure on growing, and as they expand goods 
figured on the ten per cent basis are being made at small 
profit, if any. The larger the factory, the bigger the 
clerical force and tool room; consequently, an increased 
percentage is needed to cover the expenses. The fore- 
going figures, of course, are merely given as an example. 
The total is $6.73 ; add twenty per cent and we get $8.08. 
One manufacturer, in addition to this, puts on one- third 
of the cost of enameling to cover the repairs, chipping, 
maintaining the enamel room, etc., so that the enameling 
would be 40 cents instead of 30 cents. 

Always make a note of how many pins you are figuring 
the cost of, that is, how many were made in one lot the 
first time. Under the design, mark the die numbers (all 
dies should be punched), cutters, thickness of and kind 
of stock used. In a convenient space mark the number 
and sizes of half-pearls first used in the pin. All thqse 
tips will be better understood and appreciated when you 
have made a couple of hundred new patterns, and six 
months or more may elapse before you get a duplicate 
order. A glance at your book gives you all the dietails. 

After the goods leave the factory and are in the office 
for the additional figures, a straight fifty per cent is put 
on by some manufacturers. Others put on twelve per 



136- HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



cent first to cover the subsequent taking off of ten per 
cent (as an inducement to the buyer), then the fifty per 
cent. Other firms, having put on the regular profit, size 
up the article and try to gauge it as a successful seller. 
Taking a chance, if it looks good, they clap on an extra 
twenty-five or even fifty per cent. This is all right 
enough if the pin sells. Makers who put on should also 
be willing to take off (for their own good). Some stuff 
would turn over faster and be reordered if figured a little 
lower in cost. 

Avoid the error of making goods too thin on the start. 
Articles sold all over the country and returned because 
of defection, to be replaced by more substantial and con- 
sequently heavier goods (always at the same price) often 
means wiping off a goodly slice of the profits. It is 
always better policy to make a durable piece of goods and 
get a reputation for making such. It is generally safer 
for the man who figures the factory costs to stick pretty 
closely to actual figures. The gold, of course, must be 
put down exact, as otherwise the gold account would not 
balance. But sometimes a little discretion may be exer- 
cised. Thus, if a man gets $2.50 for raising fifty pins, 
the raising is put at 8c. or more, instead of 5c. ; the mak- 
ing may be 38c. — put it at 40c. This is done to cover 
little leaks that will creep in, and also with a view of 
being on the right side of the ledger at the end of the 
year and showing a slight "factory" profit if possible. 

In the matter of weighing the pin to get the metal, some 
makers weigh as it comes from the jeweler and before 
polishing, othe/s weigh the finished article, figuring that 
everything that is taken off it in polishing, cutting for 
enamel, setting, etc., Is in the factory and will be recov- 
ered. While undoubtedly some of the gold is never 
recovered, yet the writer inclines to the latter method as 
being the nearest correct way of figuring, the loss of gold 
being charged against the factory, with the slight mar- 
gins of figuring aforesaid to offset this. In dollars and 
cents, try to have amount of goods shipped from the fac- 
tory, plus the metal on hand, with labor on same and 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 137 



material, etc., at the end of the year balance the sum 
total charged against the factory. 

In spite of all this, in dull seasons the factory will, of 
necessity, run behind, as a place equipped for a business 
of say $300,000, and doing perhaps $40,000, will be all 
to the bad unless smaller space is used, non-producing 
force is reduced, etc. This, as mentioned in a previous 
chapter, is not always good policy, as the organization is 
ruptured, and a sudden rush coming on, you are not pre- 
pared to handle the orders. 



138 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



REDUCING LABOR COSTS. 
The Rise of Specialty Shops — Producing a Better Article at 
Lower Cost — Economy in Buying Findings — Coloring 
and Soldering Done Cheaply by Specialists — Fear of 
Designs Being Copied — Light Weight "Leaders." 

THE manufacturer of jewelry, especially if new in 
the business, must, if he would exist, pay close 
attention to the cost of production. There are 
three items to be considered, viz. : gold, stones, and labor, 
and in fine gold shops these generally average about one- 
third each. In other words, a manufacturer doing a busi- 
ness of $300,000 generally pays $100,000 apiece for the 
three items. He cannot get his gold any cheaper, and the 
stones usually cost the same to each buyer, therefore he 
must concentrate his energies on ways to reduce cost of 
labor. 

With this object in mind, a number of houses have 
started up, making a specialty of one article or process, 
and by doing this one thing over and over again the labor 
has been reduced to the extent that others could not pos- 
sibly have a look in. Not alone that, but a better article 
is the result. In the matter of making findings, or rais- 
ing parts of jewelry to be afterwards assembled by the 
individual jewelers, who embellish them with little fin- 
ishing applied pieces, is this strongly in evidence. New 
shops, recognizing these conditions, are quick to take 
advantage of them, and as a result a design may be made 
in Newark, the die and stamping done in Providence or 
the Attleboros, the "strikes" returned to be made into 
brooches, links, scarf pins, etc., as orders may call for, 
then back to Providence for shading or coloring, and yet 
a better article is gotten at a considerable lower cost than 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 139 



would obtain if the same thing were made and finished 
in one shop. 

Special stampers will raise work, and make money at 
it, about five times as cheap as the average all-around 
shop can do it. A piece of jewelry an inch or so square 
will be made Roman or rose finished, or lapel buttons 
"shaded" in these special shops at surprisingly low cost; 
plain soldering (hard) of small articles at a gross price 
not much above the ordinary dozen cost. The average 
chain as it runs, used for necklaces, lorgnettes, bags, etc., 
is given a Roman finish, or joints and catches are hard- 
soldered on pins in quantities so cheaply that a small shop 
cannot afford to do it for themselves. Specialists in find- 
ings will make tools and raise your goods cheaper than 
you ever dreamed of. How can they do it? Simply by 
being better equipped for doing just this one thing than 
is any one else. 

The old-time factories make their own pin tongues, 
joints, and catches, excepting the patent ones, some of 
them even making their own settings. This was all very 
well years ago, but the cost of making these parts to-day 
is such that, by the time the selling cost has been deter- 
mined, the price is skinned to death by the other fellow, 
who has been buying his joints, etc., at about one- tenth 
the cost of making them. Gold has got to be plump. It 
would not pay a concern to handle lower than plump 
quality. 

A great argument handed out by the dowager jewel- 
ers, is that if they give out their die work, some one else 
will see it and copy it. A man ought not to be in busi- 
ness if he fears competition. While there have been 
cases where dies have been copied and sold to rival con- 
cerns, these are rare. The goods themselves are bound 
to be copied if they are good sellers, and competition is 
the life of trade. 

In the matter of gilding, shops that make a specialty 
of this have an equipment and system that keeps track 
of every grain of precious metal in solution and a thor- 
ough knowledge at all times of amount deposited. The 



140 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

dynamo is fitted with rheostat and voltmeter and the 
tank also has a rheostat for further reduction of current, 
so that no gold is burnt on, or wasted, in other words. 
This is made possible by giving sole attention to just 
coloring and nothing else. The average shops figure from 
five cents up for gilding a pin or brooch. These special 
colorers will do better work at less than one-half the 
cost. 

One large house made rope chain costing $15 per fif- 
teen-inch lengths. Another concern started up, and, by 
introducing up-to-date methods in labor production, sold 
a similar chain for $11. To this day the superintendent 
of the larger house tells me he cannot figure it out how 
the other concern is making any money. But they are, 
just the same. 

On the other hand, goods can be figured too close, so 
that they are made at a loss. These go into the "leader" 
class, but it is obvious that too many leaders will be dis- 
astrous. A common practice among firms making simi- 
lar lines, as bib or handy pins, etc., is to get up a special 
light-weight series and put them on the market at a price 
calculated to knock the other fellow's eye out. One 
large, old-established house makes a line of pins which 
is sold actually below cost. They get back, however', on 
their other lines. Getting a reputation for cheapness by 
first introducing the low-priced article, they proceed to 
unload the profit-bearing goods, and, as an old-time trav- 
eling salesman once remarked when asked if he could sell 
a certain line of jewelry: "I'll sell it to him if he isn't 
looking." Having once gotten the retail man's confi- 
dence, it is not so difficult to sell goods with the repu- 
tation for cheapness and reliability once established. 
Younger shops starting up would do well to keep in 
touch with makers of parts for jewelry instead of laying 
awake nights trying to figure out how to get out blanks 
or other material with a poorly equipped plant. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 141 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



TIME AND LABOR SAVERS. 
The Vacuum Cleaner in the Factory — Of Sanitary Value as 
Well as a Money Saver — A Shop-Made System — A Live 
Steam Pipe for the Sink — Quenching Gold and Silver 
Work. 

THE practical use of the vacuum cleaner in jewelry 
factories has engaged the attention of the larger 
fine gold manufacturers, and one oc two of them 
have had machines installed. The writer recently 
accepted an invitation from the superintendent of the 
largest factory of fine platinum and gold jewelry in 
Newark, and inspected the vacuum-cleaning apparatus. 
He learned that, so far as any additional recovery of 
gold, filings, dust, or pieces dropped, was concerned, the 
results did not warrant the expense of maintaining the 
cleaner, but the firm kept it in use for sanitary reasons. 
It should be said, however, that this particular shop is 
floored with corrugated sheet iron, thus affording little 
or no opportunity for the precious metals to get lost. 

Now there are other factories, not so equipped, per- 
haps with just plain board floors, or those covered with 
tar paper, or, where the jewelers work, a few pieces or 
sections of slats are laid down. Then again the factory 
may be an old one, several years established in one build- 
ing, and thousands of dollars' worth of gold and silver 
in dust form are wedged in the crevices of the floors, 
walls, and even ceiling. The recovery of a great deal 
of this metal can be accomplished by a vacuum cleaning 
system, which can be installed by your own toolmaker 
by simply attaching a rubber tube to the suction box of 
your blower. The nozzles for the floor, corners, walls, 
etc., you can have made. The rubber tubing should be 
large, about two inches in diameter, in order to take 



142 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



up small pieces of waste and other matter. A factory 
with a polishing room, also an enamel furnace, has a blower 
which is powerful enough to draw a fifty-cent piece 
through 150 feet of pipe. The expense of keeping this 
apparatus is practically nothing, as there is nothing to 
get out of order and the cost of operating is slight. 

It will be found a saving proposition if all men work- 
ing in gold are kept together, with rolls, lathes, and drill 
presses as near as may be convenient. Another thing 
which soon pays for itself is the putting in of a large 
brush on the inside edge of the sink so that the workmen 
may brush out their nails. Some factories wash all 
aprons and find it pays, and also insist upon every 
employee wearing an apron, for the reason that the gold 
or platinum is more easily shaken off than if it lodges on 
the wearing apparel. 

Upon reading advertisements of makers of gold alloys 
the writer notices that one concern uses the argument 
that, with his alloy, the number of remelts is greatly les- 
sened, thereby saving a loss in the gold. It isn't the gold 
that burns out; it is the copper, or the alloys that are 
used. The more times alloyed gold is melted the better 
quality it is. Pure gold melts at about 2,000° Fah. and 
may be kept in a molten state for an indefinite time 
without losing any of its weight, even should the heat 
be increased. This little tip still further impresses on 
us the importance of keeping alloyed gold well covered 
with powdered charcoal, while in the melting crucible. 

A live steam pipe swinging in the sink, to be used in 
the various cleaning of bowls or for rapidly heating 
water, is a labor-saving device much in use to-day. 
Cement-covered work is soon cleaned off by this means, 
with a handful of common washing soda also thrown in 
the bowl. Where hollow work has been chased and the 
inside is filled with alum, always steam in plain water 
first. The "steamer" is also very useful when it is 
desired to heat alcohol to facilitate the dissolving of 
shellac from stone-set work. This is done by placing a 
cup or vessel containing the alcohol into the larger bowl 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 143 



which has the hot water and the steam pipe. There is 
no danger of the alcohol becoming ignited this way. 

In raising work in the die, some of the drop hands 
place a great deal of faith in the quenching of red-hot 
pieces in alcohol before each operation. The writer finds 
that the work is not softened or made more pliable 
thereby, and the only solid excuse for using the spirit is, 
that it cleans the surface from oxide, cooling the work at 
the same time. The same results can, of course, be gotten 
by boiling out in pickle. Silver can be quenched by 
throwing into a solution of cyanide of potassium and 
water. This removes all oxide and presents a pearly 
white surface. In all events, work after annealing 
should always be clean before putting through the next 
operation. 



144 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



SOME SHOP PROBLEMS. 
In Response to Subscribers' Inquiries — Filling in Letters 
Engraved on Ivory — Mixing Aniline Colors — Working 
18-Karat Gold — Alloying Coin — Heavy Rolling to Close 
Grain. 



W 



ILL you kindly publish how to mix paraffine and 
aniline used to fill in letters engraved on ivory, 

etc.?" 

Letters engraved on ivory are best filled in with black 
lacquer applied with a finely pointed pencil brush. Broad 
incisions may be filled in by using a composition of asphal- 
tum, some paraffine wax and a very little beeswax. 
This mixture is applied with heat and leveled off with 
pumicestone. The ivory should be placed on an iron 
plate or pan and slowly warmed. 

A less risky method is to dissolve black sealing wax in 
alcohol and paint on when thinned to the proper con- 
sistency. Another black paint is made of amber varnish 
dissolved in spirits of lavender. A good filling is also 
made of 12 parts of pure beeswax to i of litharge. A 
good black aniline varnish is made of aniline black, 2 
parts; gum lac, 3 parts; 90 per cent spirit, 45 parts. 
Dissolve the aniline in as little as possible of a mixture of 
alcohol and concentrated acid, then add to the alcoholic 
and gum lac solution. 

Aniline colors, which are insoluble in water, may be 
rendered soluble by mixing gelatine in acetic acid (of 
about the thickness of syrup and adding the aniline color 
in the form of fine powder), stirring well all the time. 
The mixture is then heated over a water bath to the tem- 
perature of boiling water, and kept at that heat for some 
time. Colors in this state, if a very clean gelatine syrup 



HOW TO MA KE JE WELR Y. 1 45 



is employed, are useful for many decorative purposes, as 
filling in of spaces in ivory, wood, paper, etc. 

A good ink for ivory is made of five parts sodium sili- 
cate dissolved in boiling water and adding five parts of 
liquid India ink. Only sufficient water should be used to 
make the liquid flow easily. 

Probably nitrate of silver is the most satisfactory of all 
the various processes for blackening ivory. Procure 50 
grains of nitrate of silver and dissolve in i ounce of dis- 
tilled water. Paint on with a small brush, let dry, then 

place in the sun. 

* * * 

"I have always had more or less trouble in working 
i8-karat gold, especially when alloying coin. I would 
like to be enlightened on this 'trick of the trade.' " 

In alloying fine gold (24-karat) or coin gold down to 
i8-karat, silver and copper should be the only alloys 
used. The silver should be fine and the copper either 
purified shot copper or the special wire made for alloying. 
A pale, ductile and malleable i8-karat is made of fine 
gold, 18 parts; silver, 4 parts, and copper, 2 parts. If a 
red alloy is desired simply reverse the amounts of the 
silver and copper. When using coin gold, which is about 
22-karats fine (21 3-5 karats, to be exact), an excellent 
i8-karat alloy is, gold coin, 19^^ parts; silver, i>^ parts, 
and copper, 3 parts. This is a good ring alloy. 

American coin gold consists of 90 parts fine gold to 10 
of copper. The French coin is the same. The English 
gold coin is a trifle finer, being composed of 91.66 parts 
fine gold to 8.34 parts copper. 

When convenient, it is better to use 24-karat or fine 
gold in the making of alloys, as in the frequent meltings 
of coin gold the copper oxidizes and burns to a certain 
extent. However, with care in melting and rolling, 
1 8-karat gold may be gotten out either way. 

Always use same crucible in melting, that is, do not 
use one in which silver solder or other metals have been 
melted. Put in metal so that gold is last layer. Break 
a few crumbs of lump sal ammoniac, mix in with pow- 



146 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



dered willow charcoal and cover the gold well. When 
melted stir thoroughly with an iron rod, keeping the mol- 
ten mass under the charcoal layer. Remove from the 
furnace and let stand until the top of crucible extending 
down to the gold shows a dark red, almost black, then 
pour quickly as possible into an ingot which has been pre- 
viously warmed a little. Eighteen-karat gold is pretty 
much like silver in melting and pouring; if poured too 
hot it will spit and rapidly absorb the air. 

After removing from the ingot the gold should be well 
hammered and given two or three heavy drafts through 
the rolls to insure closing of the grain in center of the 
bar. Many a bar of perfectly melted i8-karat gold has 
been condemned simply because it was not properly 
"broken" down in the rolling. 

If light drafts are used the surface only is pressed, the 
grain in the center being stretched, later showing cracks 
and holes. Eighteen-karat gold should never be annealed 
after removing from the ingot until it has been well ham- 
mered and rolled. 

The reason that silver and copper should be the only 
alloys used is that prepared alloys on the market usually 
contain zinc in some form or other and burn out or vola- 
tilize in gold as high as i8-karat in quality. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 147 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



THE BUYING OF STONES. 
Assorting Sizes of Melees — Careful Figuring Necessary on 
Goods in Which only Small Diamonds are Used — Get 
Your Profit on Goods That are Moving — Stones Sold by 
the Pennyweight — How Pearls are Sold — Shaped Stones 
Priced by the Dozen. 

THE manufacturer buying diamonds direct from the 
cutters is often confronted with the rather diffi- 
cult task of assorting the various sizes„and putting 
them in stock at the prevaiUng market value. To illus- 
trate, we will presume we have purchased 30 carats of 
melees (different sizes), and in this paper of diamonds 
we sort out 12 carats of stones running 64 to the carat, 6 
carats averaging 100 to the carat, 5 carats that run about 
150 stones to the carat, and the balance in 1-16 carat 
stones, 1-8 carat, a few 1-32 carat stones, in all weigh- 
ing together 30 carats. We have bought the lot at $100 
per carat. Now, 1-64 carat sizes may be bought for less 
than $100 a carat, while, on the other hand, the smaller 
size stones cost to-day anywhere from $125 to $250 per 
carat. 

Figured on these prices, it has happened that the small- 
est diamonds cost more than those four or more times as 
large — a stone weighing 1-32 being cheaper than one 
running 150 stones to the carat. Of course, no customer 
is going to pay more for a smaller stone, and consequently 
the smaller stones are figured very close and the profit 
put on the larger ones. A great deal of judgment must 
be used, however, as, for instance, where a line of goods 
is selling in which nothing but small stones are set, and 
it not always being an easy matter to run across a cheap 
lot of melee, a paper of stones the exact size desired 
must be bought, and usually at a greatly advanced price. 



148 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



In other words, figure your profit on the stones that are 
moving; the stuff in your safe is practically so much 
dead wood. As soon as you get the costs figured out, 
put on ten per cent and put stones in stock. 

Semi-precious stones are sold by the pennyweight and 
also by the dozen. This includes amethyst, topaz, lapis 
lazuli, coral, turquoise matrix, and other stones of about 
these grades. Pink and green tourmaline and peridot, 
with, of course, the rubies, sapphires, emeralds, olivenes, 
Montana sapphires and turquoise, are, like the diamond, 
sold by the carat. 

Of the reconstructed, scientific stones, the ruby is most 
in favor. These last stones find ready sale outside of 
New York. Most likely the exclusive jewelry shops on 
Fifth avenue persistently refuse to handle the recon- 
structed stones, fearing it would hurt the sale of the 
natural article. 

In the matter of whole pearls, some stone dealers quote 
prices per grain base atid others show you a paper of 
pearls at so much a grain. Mr. A. has a lot of pearls for 
sale at $2.50 per grain base. You select one weighing 
one and a half grains. Now, to get the price per grain 
of a pearl weighing one and a half grains, you multiply 
the cost per grain base ($2.50) by one and a half. This 
is $3.75. Multiply this by one and a half and you get 
the cost of a pearl weighing a grain and a half at $2.50 
per grain base, which is $5.63. A four-grain pearl, $2 
base, is worth 4x2x4, equals $32. The weight of the 
pearl multiplied by $2, gives the price per grain, and mul- 
tiplying this by the number of grains in the pearl gives 
us the cost of the pearl. Half-pearls from No. 3 to 
No. 12 are usually sold at prices per one thousand, while 
the larger sizes are quoted per hundred. 

Baroque pearls are usually sold by the grain, the 
smaller sizes being fractions thereof. For instance, we 
buy a paper of 1-6 baroques at 18 cents per grain: each 
pearl costs us 3 cents. The smaller diamonds, whole 
pearls and half-pearls may be conveniently kept in small 
bottles; the rubies, sapphires, emeralds, olivenes, etc., 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 149 

also in the same way. Have a sheet iron or tin box made 
in which the bottles stand snugly. The writer colors 
the corks so that at a glance he can tell which bottle 
holds sapphires and which rubies, etc. 

All stones should be entered in a stone book as soon as 
bought and given a mark, a letter or a figure. Say we 
buy ten carats of Montana sapphires from Smith & Co. 
We enter the lot in the book as ninety or a hundred Mon- 
tana sapphires, whatever the number is, "Series A," and 
leave space for subsequent entries as the stones are used. 
The bottles are likewise labelled "A." Now, when all 
these stones are used and it becomes necessary to buy 
more, the next invoice is marked "B," and so on to the 
end of the alphabet. The next series is started Ai, 
Bi, Ci, etc., and the next A2, B2, C2, and so on in- 
definitely. 

The semi-precious stones that are sold by the dozen 
are those that have become more or less staple, as the 
oval stones for links and scarf pins, and also the square 
stones used in bar pins. It is a great deal more con- 
venient to figure this stufT by the dozen, and the weight 
of each individual stone is not so important as in the case 
of the very precious stones. 

Reverting to the beginning of this chapter, I am 
reminded of a business interview with an ambitious 
young stone salesman who had a lot of olivenes he was 
extremely anxious to dispose of. Upon naming his 
price for the lot, we asked him what he would charge for 
a selection of some of the sizes. He promptly quoted us 
a price which was more than he wanted for the entire lot. 
Upon our venturing to remark that he seemed a little 
high, he said that he had to ask more for a selection, as 
the sizes left were not desirable. 

Note — The figures given here are merely nominal and are 
intended merely as illustrations showing method of figuring costs. 
Rapid fluctuations make it inadvisable to use present quotations. 
See Appendix. 



I50 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



MAKING PEARL JEWELRY. 
Preparing the Dies for Saving Stock — Using the Pump Drill 
— Making the Drills and Beading Tools — Polishing with 
Emery Paper — Burrs for Claw Work — Half-Pearls in 
Platinum — DiflEerent Alloys Used for Gold Work. 

FACTORIES making fine jewelry having half-pearl 
ornamentation, make it a practice to have the 
places meant for the pearls struck up in the die. 
Before the die is sunk the hub is given to the stone setter, 
with instructions as to the number of pearls it is desired, 
and size to go in pin. The hub being drilled correctly, 
it is then hardened and a die sunk from it, when the set- 
tings will be clearly indicated in the gold work and will 
only need a little redrilling to sharpen them up and make 
a snug receptacle for the pearl. The one disadvantage 
is that the edges are apt to break off around the pearls 
every once in a while, necessitating a new die or a soften- 
ing and resinking of the old one. This is of compara- 
tively little moment, however, and is more than made 
up in the uniform output of goods, same size peaJs and 
quantity, and also in the saving of the stock, an article 
with the pearls in the die being raised about one-third 
thinner than if it were to be drilled afterwards. Half- 
pearls are mostly set piece work in the large factories, 
as, in fact, are neai ly all stones, some of the shops retain- 
ing one or two men to work on special or odd designs 
at a fixed wage. 

In drilling, the pump drill stock is used, as shown in 
Fig. I. Some setters use two stocks, a lighter one for 
cleaning out the holes after the first drilling and cut- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



151 



ting has been done. Eel skin or snake skin evenly cut 
f] makes the best cord, although ordi- 
nary belt lacing is used. This lat- 
ter has a tendency to keep stretch- 
ing, and the skin is recommended 
as being tougher and more lasting. 
The end of an old toothbrush 
is tied to one end of the handle, 
as shown. This enables the 
setter to keep his work clean 
from the drillings without 
having to pick up a 
brush every time. As a 
lubricant, some use tur- 
pentine and others 
swear by soap and 
water. Personally, the 
writer thinks the latter is the better; 
it works as well, and you are not 
up against the odor of turpentine 
all the time. 

In making the drills, use only 
the best 'Stubbs' steel and get a 
thickness that fits the tail stock 
snugly — not the slightest rock or wabble; this is most 
important in good work. Learn to file the drills to 
the various sizes so they will drill absolutely true to 
center. Of the sizes you will use the most, say from 
No. 5 to No. ID, make' at least a half-dozen of each size. 
You are bound to have some "pets" among these that 
will drill better than the others, and when these finally 
give out, the old timers say it is like losing a friend. 
Fig. 2 shows how a drill should be filed and ready to 
insert in drill stock. The cutting edge should be only 
slightly beveled, and you should make it a rule to have 
all drills cut on the down stroke, generally when the 
stock is turning to the right. Try to work with as 
little a tip or "tit" to drill as possible, so that it will 
not show on back of the article you are setting. For 




152 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



hardening, some setters plunge drill, after heating to 

a a cherry red, in beeswax, others use ordinary 
machine oil, and lots of drills are hardened in 
water in which a little salt is thrown. They all 
work about the same in the long run. Before 
heating, the drill should be stuck in a cake of 
soap. This protects the steel in the flame 
and prevents the surface of the drill 
from getting burnt, and also pre- 
P PI sents a clean surface ready for tem- 

rlCx, ^ 1 pering after coming out of the hard- 
ening bath. Do not blow directly 
on the point of the drill in heating, 
/^ I but about a half -inch from the end, 

and as the drill gets red, gradually 
heat to the end. The drill may now 
be brightened a little more by rub- 
bing on the oilstone and then held 
in a gas flame, or over an alcohol 
lamp, letting the flame strike the middle of the drill 
until it shows blue and a straw color is spreading to the 
cutting end. When a pale yellow or straw jcolor shows 
on the end, plunge at once into oil or water, and the 
drill is ready for the final sharpening. The end fitting 
into the stock need not be hard, of course. 

The usual method in drilling work for pearls is to first 
drill about three-qiiarters the depth, then do the bright 
cutting, then redrill to get the other quarter or full depth. 
This sharpens up the hole, cleans it out, etc. The bright 
cutting is done with a graver called a "spit stick," and is 
a knife-edge cutting tool with the sides slightly rounded, 
as shown in Fig. 3. The beautiful bright luster is got- 
ten by carefully rubbing the cutting sides and point of 
tool with the finest emery paper (No. Vo), after well 
sharpening on the oilstone. Do not polish too much 
so as to smooth off the cutting edge and prevent a 
clean cut. Setters of twenty years ago, and some 
to-day, use "bort" (diamond dust) mixed with a little 
alcohol and rubbed on a boxwood block to polish their 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



153 



gravers, but the finest emery paper does just as well, 
is cheaper and more convenient to handle. 

The beading tools are also made of Stubbs' steel, and 
are shaped and filed to the size, the bead on the end indi- 
cated with a half-round graver and then finished in a 
beading block, hardened and tempered and well polished 
by putting in a lathe and pressing the emery paper 
against the end by means of a piece of wood. The bet- 
ter the tool is polished, the brighter the bead on your 
work. All stones, other than pearls, that are set close or 
thread set, are first laid out with a pearl drill and then 
drilled through with a twist or flange drill slightly 
smaller, so as to leave a bearing for the stone. 




'"'^•/t 



In cramp or claw work, where the stones are held by 
prongs, if a number of stones the same size are to be set, 
a burr or frazer is made and is put in an upright drill 
press or lathe. The work is held firmly and is carefully 
burred out so that the stone will fit in. These burrs may 
be bought in sets from the jewelers' supply houses, but 
the writer recommends making your own to fit the job 
you are working on. A little experience will soon teach 
you how to go at it. Do not have your cutting edges 
very deep and use as fine a three-cornered needle file as 
you can. Get familiar with the drill press — ^whether it 



154 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



runs true, with not too much swing or wabble. You might 
make a burr the exact diameter of the stone to be set, and 
your lathe not running exactly to center would of course 
cut a larger hole. Fig. 4 shows some burrs or frazers 
in use to-day. Excepting the beaded prong on a setting, 
no gold work should be polished after setting ; the work- 
man should send in his work all beautifully bright cut, 
the scratches or "slips" on side of work (if any) care- 
fully burnished out. The pearls, after putting in the fin- 
ishing parts, are covered with a paste of powdered car- 
bonate of magnesia and sent to the polishing room for 
washing out, the putting on of the magnesia preventing 
any rouge or tripoli from getting in the pearls in the final 
touching off of the pin tongue rivet, pendant attachment, 
etc. Magnesia is also painted in as a bed for the pearls 
before being set. This in a measure keeps out moisture 
and prolongs the life of the pearl. 

Where half-pearls are set in platinum, as is the case 
in a few of the stores, the mounting is drilled and cut, 
the pearls fitted and then polished with a special plati- 
num tripoli and rouge before the pearls are fastened in. 
All stone work, diamonds, sapphires, rubies, etc., of 
course may be polished after they are set in platinum, 
the "azures," or holes in the backs, being covered with 
the magnesia before doing so. 

All half-pearl work that is not backed, as stars, sun- 
bursts, fancy scroll pins, etc., is cut out of 170 stock in 
the dial screw gauge. Articles raised in dies may be got- 
ten out of 120 stock, and goods that are backed up are 
made out of as low as 60 stock. 

Excellent alloys for half-pearl work are: i8-karat — 
Fine gold, 18 parts; fine silver, 4 parts, and fine copper, 2 
parts. 14-karat — Fine gold, 14 parts; fine silver, 7 
parts; and fine copper, 3 parts. lo-karat — Fine gold, 
10 parts; fine silver, 6 parts; fine copper, 2 parts, and 
Guinea alloy, 6 parts. 

These alloys are all a pale, rich color, and are well 
adapted for half-pearl work. If they should be desired 
a trifle more red, simply take off from the silver and 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 155 



add to the copper so that your totals, 24 in each case, 
will be the same. It is a good plan to have a piece of 
brass plate, the exact thickness of your work in hand, 
to experiment on so as to see if drills are working right, 
"tit" is short enough, etc. 



156 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



DRILLING PEARLS FOR STRINGING OR CEMENTING. 

Special Pliers for Holding the Pearl — Making the Drills — 
Wider Grooves than in Regular Twist Drills — Bow Drill 
for Irregular Shapes — Cement Supersedes Wedges in 
Fastening Pearls on Pegs — Liquid Solutions of Little 
Use — Riveting not Advised — Making Rope Necklaces. 

ROUND or button peg.rls are drilled for stringing 
or cementing on pegs by holding them in a pair 
of pliers especially altered for this purpose. The 
plier is filed on both sides and a piece of copper or brass 
is soft-soldered on; cavities are hollowed out just large 
enough to take the pearl and hold it firmly for drilling 
without any risk of crushing the pearl. A hole just large 
enough to admit the drill you are going to use is drilled 
through one nose or side of the pliers so that it goes 
through the center of the hollow. (Fig. i.) The 
upright drill press is the most practical for drilling pearls, 
but good work can be done on a horizontal lathe as 
well. After drilling the plier it should be hardened, 
as in drilling several pearls the drill will wear the hole 
larger and the pearl will not be drilled in the center, and, 
furthermore, unless the drill point strikes the center of 
the pearl there is risk of splitting it. The large and 
expensive pearls are drilled by hand, an old-style bow 
drill being used. This bow drill may be made out of a 
piece of a rib of an umbrella, or, better yet, a whalebone. 
Violin string or catgut is the string used. Do not have 
too great a tension, as the drill wheel will take up some of 
the slack. 

Drills for both the lathe and hand work are specially 
made, generally by the man who does the drilling. The 
regular twist drills are too solid, not enough groove in 
them, as they are made for metal drilling, and while they 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



157 



are used occasionally, the pearl driller soon finds that a 
drill made on finer and more delicate lines is what is 
needed. Now, to make these drills, get a coil of best 
steel piano wire, the size of the hole desired, and cut off 
a dozen pieces three inches long. Put one end in a pin 



Fl<kX 



FiCr 3 




vise and hold over an alcohol lamp so that point of flame 
touches middle of wire. When red quickly place on a 
hardened smooth flat steel block and hammer with a 
smooth-face hammer. When the center section is flat- 
tened, say, about three-quarters of an inch, and is about 
forty points in a dial screw gauge, smooth carefully with 
fine emery paper, hold again over the lamp and twist; 
leave the grooves wider than in a regular twist drill. 
Place again on the flat block and hammer carefully so 
that the twist will be the same thickness as the shank of 



158 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

the drill. (Fig. 2.) Finish by drawing the wire through 
a round hole draw plate. Now file through center and 
you have two drills ready for hardening. If you have 
twelve strips, twenty-four drills are now made. 

After drawing down (tempering) to a deep straw color, 
put the shank in a lathe (horizontal) and fit a grooved 
metal block for the drill to rest in while smoothing and 
sharpening the spiral with a needle file oilstone. The 
point of drill is sharpened so that the cutting edge is 
slightly higher than the general face of the point. Always 
have plenty of drills; you will find some of them good, 
doing twice or three times the work of the others. Some- 
times out of a couple of dozen drills perhaps only twelve 
or less are of any real service. This may be the fault 
of the steel, overheating or burning in the hardening, 
or not running true in lathe, etc. The writer has fouud 
it best to chuck out these poor drills at once and make 
others. When you get a couple of dozen good ones, 
hang on to them and they will last for years. 

A piece of brass hollow wire is drawn over the drill, 
leaving just enough of the business end to work with. 
This strengthens the drill and also serves as a gauge in 
determining depth of hole. Soft solder the brass to the 
drill at the shank end ; enough solder will run in to hold 
securely. 

The ordinary flange or fiat drill, filed beveled, the cut- 
ting edge also slightly beveled, is used in the bow drill 
(Figs. 3-4). 

Irregular shape or baroque pearls are nearly always 
drilled by hand in first-class factories. These pearls gen- 
erally have a better side ; the pearl is first marked with a 
point and is then held in a pair of pliers hollowed out as 
before, only that no hole is drilled in the pliers. Unless 
you are drilling thousands of these pearls (in which case 
the man's bench is fitted up with a power lathe), after 
marking the place to be drilled, insert the point of drill 
and use the bow drill, and the job is done. To first 
mark the pearls and then take the lot to a lathe, means 
handling each pearl twice and a turning of them over to 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 159 



find out spot for drilling, the labor consequently being 
more. Baroque pearls should always have a flat base. 
Touch off the pearl carefully with a new flat file. This 
insures against rocking on the peg and prevents a great 
many pearls from becoming loosened and lost. 

Cements of various kinds are used almost exclusively 
in fastening on the pearls. Some years ago large pearls, 
especially for studs, were riveted on. This was necessi- 
tated by reason of the fact that in those days gum mas- 
tic was the only cement used. One way of fastening the 
pearl was to use a split peg: a tiny wedge was inserted, 
and as the pearl was gently tapped on, the wedge was 
driven further in the peg, thereby spreading it, a drill 
with the point broadened out being previously used. 
This, when inserted in the pearl, widened the deepest 
part of the hole. Another method was to use a fine gold 
or green gold hollow peg with a little shot in the end 
loose, said shot forcing into the hollow wire with the 
tapping on of the pearl as before. These pearls, when put 
on in this manner, were there to stay, and therein lies the 
trouble, as in later years large numbers of these pearl 
studs were sent in by private customers to have the 
pearls removed and mounted into brooches, pins, etc. 
The only safe way to get out the peg in this case is to 
drill it out, using a small drill as a starter and finishing 
with a drill about the size of the peg. 

There are now in use specially prepared cements for 
pearls, of which the best is Wagner's American pearl 
cement. For some work a French white mastic is liked, 
and for large pearls of a grain or over white shellac is 
excellent. There are also on the market liquid solutions 
for pearls. These are not of much use except in imita- 
tion pearls, and ordinary liquid glue will answer for 
these just as well. To properly fasten on a pearl with 
cement the hole should be as deep as possible without 
showing from the front. The peg should be well rough- 
ened and "chewed" up, so that the pearl goes on snug. 
Warm up cement and "string" out to just the thickness. 
Plug up the hole with cement, heat both the pin and pearl, 



i6o HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



and quickly fasten on and hold with tweezers until cool. 
If you are putting a number of pearls on one pin, gently 
warm all after final pearl is on, and go over the lot. 
Sometimes a pearl will "rise" a little in putting on of the 
others. 

In certain work to-day some manufacturers use a 
platinum peg, drill pearl all way through and rivet the 
pearl on. This is chiefly done in work where the pearl is 
put on sideways, the end of the rivet not showing from 
the front. This practice is not advocated, as the pin or 
article being discarded, it is hard to adapt the pearls to 
other jewelry. A pearl with a hole clear through it is not 
nearly as valuable either. 

Whole pearls are used in the making of rope necklaces, 
two or more strands being used. A very effective and 
less expensive way is to alternate the strands with onyx 
beads. These pearls and beads are strung on surgeon's 
silk and the "ropes" are made by tying the number of 
strands together at one end, stringing on "the pearls or 
beads, then twisting each strand separately considerably, 
and finally bringing all together, when the recoil will 
twist them all into one rope. The ends are securely tied 
to prevent unfastening or untwisting, and a box and 
snap cemented on with shellac. 

Pearls are strung on platinum or gold wire, making 
fancy patterns, as Figs. 5 and 6. The wire for stringing 
is drawn very fine, in the case of platinum especially so, 
and are wound into narrow oval or flat rings, as A, 
squeezed through the hole in the pearl and the ends 
rounded into rings, as B, and jumped together with a 
connecting ring. The same principle is carried out in 
Fig. 6. They are made in any number of widths. The 
loose connecting ring is sometimes not used; in this 
case the eye wire is linked into the preceding one and 
soldered, then squeezed through the next pearl, another 
eye ring fitted in and soldered, and so on. A very 
tiny flame is used so as not to risk scorching the pearl. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. i6i 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



RING MAKING. 
An Apparently Inviting Field in Which there is Sharp Com- 
petition — Revolution of Methods — Labor-Saving De- 
vices and Modern Machines a Necessary Feature — Dies 
and Press Work for Ornaments — 18- Karat Settings on 
Lower Grade Shanks. 

THERE is no branch of jewelry manufacturing that 
has been revolutionized more in the past twenty 
years than the making of rings. An inviting field 
to enter, by reason of the enormous output a,nd the con- 
stant demand, manufacturers have gone exclusively into 
this line, discontinuing all else; hundreds of ring shops 
have sprung up all over the country, since, excepting in 
the case of the fine platinum goods, fancy special and 
carved work, rings can be made by low-priced labor. 
There being little opportunity for getting out anything 
distinctly new and original, under sharp competition, the 
makers have been forced to devote all their thought to 
labor-saving devices, installing machinery and tools to 
facilitate quick production. 

Thirty years ago the writer worked in a New York 
factory and remembers the methods then in vogue — roll- 
ing down a bar through the half-round rolls, cutting into 
different lengths, rounding on the ring shaper, soldering, 
rounding on the mandrel, the subsequent turning or tru- 
ing on the lathe, and the final polishing of the wedding 
ring. Shanks of fancy rings were all struck in two 
halves, soldered, shaped up, and the setting or box, or 
whatever it might be, was let in. Some rings are made 
this way to-day by small concerns, but the firms making 
the one-piece wedding ring, cutting or punching it out of 
a piece of stock and swedging it up in very few opera- 
tions, get the business. 



1 62 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



F/^Z 




In getting out fancy rings of all kinds, signets, clusters, 
in fact, all combinations of stones, the main feature to 
keep in view is the getting of the top, or ornament, out 
as cheaply as possible by means of dies and presswork. 
Fig. I shows the hub of a plain signet. This, of course, 
is sunk in a die and a dummy or half-hollow force is 
reduced to strike up stock. A blank is cut out, slightly 
thicker than the shank is to be when finished, struck 



Fii^B 



Fig. 





in the die, passed through the cutter for trimming, 
shaped up, and a lining let in under the top, extending 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



163 



under the shoulders of the shank. See Fig. 2. This is 
soldered and filed up carefully. It might be added that 
a notch is filed in some instances on the inside of the 
signet before bending flat and shaping up, so as to avoid 
straining the gold and showing "frets," or seams, 
across the top. 

While the best, or at least the highest priced, Tiffany 
rings are still made all in one piece, being hammered and 
filed out of a thick piece of stock, an excellent ring is 
made as in Fig. 3. The stock in this case is cut somewhat 
thinner than the head, or the thickest part, and after 

F/Cr S 



Fi<k(> 



Ft(^t 




being removed from the drop hammer, the gold will have 
been forced up into the deepest part, or shoulder, of the 
shank. Always find out, before striking up any big jobs, 
just how thin you can roll your stock, and act accord- 
ingly. Shape up shank, get exact size wanted, have a 
burr or frazer just the size and slant of setting you pro- 
pose soldering in, burr out clean, so that setting fits 
snugly, and solder with best quality solder. Some firms 
use, in an all-gold ring, i8-karat settings, regardless of 



1 64 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



what the karat quality of the shank may be. This 
lessens the danger of burning or melting the points, and 



'^/^g 




after setting, the prongs take a much better and more 
lasting bright cut. Fig. 5 may be struck hollow or solid, 
as desired. The hole for the stone is drilled after ring 
is shaped up and soldered. Fig. 6 is made from the same 
die, the hole being drilled before the ring is rounded, 
thus forming an oval setting. 

A style of ring shank is shown in Fig. 7 that is capable 
of any number of combinations of settings. It can be 
adjusted to a round, cushion shape, oval or square stone 
with equal facility, or a round or oval blank may be sol- 
dered on the top as a signet. Staple patterns in cluster 
rings, both round and oval, or "Marquise," and also the 
"Princess," are made by cutting out the outside wall or 
outline, and soldering in the inside sections. In Fig. 8, A 
is soldered in, as at B, with a single setting in the center, 
as at C. When complete with shank and stones, we have 
a finished cluster ring like Fig. 9. The little oblong 
prong in A is split by the stonesetter, each half thereby 
becoming a prong. With these ideas furnished, the 
jeweler can branch out into an endless number of de- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY, 165 



signs. Where more trimming is wanted, always try to 
get it out in the die. 

The getting out of the signet, as at Fig. i, enables us 
to get an undercut. For heavy, elaborate and jeweled 
rings of intricate design, sectional dies are made. The 
sale of such goods is obviously confined to a few stores, 
and it is doubtful if the cost of the dies is ever gotten 
out of these expensive patterns. 



i66 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XL. 



SIZING AND SOLDERING OF RINGS. 
A Frequent Item in the Jewelry Repair Department — Saw- 
ing a Ring from the Finger — Finding the Length of 
Added Piece — Some Wrong Ways of Fitting — Cut Out 
Sections Previously Repaired. 

WHILE the soldering and sizing of rings has been 
touched upon in a previous chapter, yet upon 
noting some queries in various trade papers the 
writer will go more into detail, and also endeavor to add 
more information about this, probably the most frequent 
item in the jewelry repair department. 

The jeweler is called upon to take a ring off a finger, 
and the ordinary methods failing, it has to be sawn 
through and spread open to slip off. It is a notorious 
fact that some storekeepers have been known to spend 
a half-hour or more fiddling with a needle file (oftentimes 
a larger one), rasping off the skin, and otherwise making 
it uncomfortable for the customer. 

A ring may be removed in a few moments without 
trouble if lifted, by means of two pieces of wood, from 
the flesh, the saw blade inserted, secured to its frame 
(rather slack), and the sawing done carefully. If the 
ring is a thick, heavy one, it is sawn in two halves; better 
to do this than to take any chances of mutilating the flesh 
by trying to open with pliers or other tools. Thin, nar- 
row bands are sometimes removed by cutting with cut- 
ting nippers. This is more or less risky and does not 
make as clean a job for letting in of a piece for enlarging 
the ring. When you start to use the saw, explain to 
your customer the method of procedure and you will 
allay much unnecessary nervousness, especially in the 
case of children. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 167 

All ring sticks have a gauge marked to show the length 
a piece of metal should be to make a ring size 5, 6, etc., 
and also how much gold to add to make a number 6 ring 
size up to number 8, and so on. The rule is to mark off 
the length of the piece and add the thickness of the gold 
extra. This last is not so important in thin rings, but in 
thicker shanks it will be found an item. 

Another way to find out is to open up the ring to the 
right size, place on a ring stick and fit in the piece of gold. 
Where possible, tie not too tightly together with iron 
bending wire. If a ring, after soldering, does not quite 
reach the desired size it may be enlarged by placing on 
a steel mandrel and gently tapping with a hammer. Do 
not tap the solder joints. 

The mandrel, by the way, should be of hardened tem- 
pered steel and the apprentice boy instructed not to fill 
it full of dents or nicks. The hammer should be of 
slightly softer steel to preclude this happening, which will 
save a lot of labor in refinishing rings. All joints to be 
soldered should just touch and no more. If the ends of 
a ring spring together, they will overlap or open out in 
the heating. Examine a ring well to find the joint before 
sawing through, and if in doubt anneal black, when seam 
will show. If a ring shows signs of having been soldered 
in a number of places, or a section is plastered with sol- 
der, you will find it much cheaper to cut out that section 
and replace with a new piece of gold. It does not pay, 
after you have carefully fitted a piece, to have half the 
shank tumble down like a stack of cards in the soldering. 

Heavy rings are opened for enlarging by forcing on 
steel mandrel and hammered with a rawhide mallet. 
Tissue paper made by folding up strips about a half- 
inch wide, of a dozen thicknesses, is the quickest, best 
and most practical covering for stones. The expert ring 
sizer will have half a dozen of these strips lying at his 
place in a shallow dish or plate, with just enough water to 
keep them wet, and taking the rings as they run, will size 
a dozen an hour. The paper is neatly and quickly 
wrapped around stones, well pressed down and held with. 



i68 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



spring tweezers. Care must be taken to see that paper 
does not open from ring in soldering. It is well to drop 
a little water on to paper just before soldering to insure 
a thorough wetting. 

Asbestos string is sometimes used, but this is unneces- 
sary if directions are carefully followed out. Use a large 
flame, plenty of gas, and solder as rapidly as possible. 
If necessary to stop and add solder after the ring has been 
heated, it is advisable to examine paper and drop a little 
more water on if needed. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 169 



CHAPTER XLI. 



CHAIN MAKING. 

Machine Work on a Large Scale — Cutting Up for Special 
Patterns — The Popular Sautoir— Finishing in Roman — 
Linking Up Rope^Making Links for Enameling — In- 
serting Pearls. 

LARGE manufacturing concerns in Providence and 
the Attleboros have gone into the making of chain 
on a large scale, installing machinery and specially- 
training their employees for this branch of the jewelry 
business, thereby reducing the cost of production to a 
point considerably less than it is possible for the average 
maker of jewelry to turn out cable, rope, horseshoe or 
corn chain, foxtail or other patterns. 

These chains, especially the cable pattern, are bought 
from the chain makers in about 1 00 foot lengths, and are 
cut up by the manufacturers of pendants, lavallieres, 
fancy drop necklaces, festoons, etc. A little touch of 
originality is given by the insertion at intervals of a hand- 
made ornamental link. This stamps a sort of individ- 
uality on the goods, and a demand is often created for a 
simple cable neck chain which has half a dozen little 
gold or enamel ornamental links let in at equal spaces. 

In buying the cable chain it is best to get the kind that 
has separate soldered links. The chain that is linked and 
soldered in links of two together at the joint is good 
enough for long pieces, but where you are cutting up the 
chain it is ovbious that there will be a waste. It is quite 
within the scope of the average shop jeweler to take this 
chain and insert a few little links of his own making and 
turn out a dainty little neck chain. 



I70 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



A few patterns are here shown of simple but effective 
design, very easily made. Fig. I is very fine round wire 

I. 3 




/S 



"*. 





, 1 


%l^^^^ 


'x\. 




"'^■'rf^V 


w^^ 




f 


\ 


'(' 


V 
I 



wound on a flat arbor which is rounded on the edges, the 
links soldered and twisted as shown at B. Fig. 2 is two 
scrolls soldered together-. Fig. 3 shows a couple of 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 171 



scrolls soldered in a pointed oval ring; Fig. 4 is a half- 
ring in a frame; Fig. 5 consists of rings with a shot cen- 
ter; Fig. 6 is a coil soldered stiff, with connecting rings 
soldered on each end, and Fig. 7 is a plain, smooth, round 
wire. , There are a number of fancy wire draw plates 
which furnish an infinite variety of patterns; some of 
these may also be made by drawing up round wire to 
the desired thickness, cutting into suitable lengths and 
soldering together in threes or fours, making the corru- 
gated or ribbed link. 

, Another touch of character is given to the neck chain 
by making the front a little different, altering it so that 
a little drop or piece of chain suspends from the neck- 
piece. This in one jump raises the title of the heretofore 
modest necklace to that of "sautoir." 

Incidentally, the "sautoir" will sell at a somewhat 
higher price and out of proportion to the slight increase 
in cost of making. Fig. 8 may be made out of either 
round or flat stock. The flat is a little disc with the cen- 
ter cut out in the press, which, when lapped and finished 
bright, shows up well. Figs. 9 and 12 are three round 
wire rings connected, the first having a stone or pearl in 
the center. Figs. 10, 11, 13 and 14 are httle screw-edge 
scrolls and look best finished Roman color. 

In finishing these in Roman the work is stripped in the 
solution after soldering, well scratch-brushed with a 
steel brush, and put into the gilding solution without any 
further polishing. This will produce a bright Roman, 
not unlike acid coloring. These are all simple designs 
and are here shown as suggestions to the reader who may 
wish to make up a few fancy drop "necks" or sautoir 
effects for his stock. The spring rings and swivels may 
be purchased from several good makers. 

The Newark factories still make a great deal of rope 
chain in its various sizes. The links in some instances 
are made in Providence and sent on to Newark for link- 
ing, charging and soldering. Girls, after a few months, 
become expert in linking up this very ornate and graceful 
chain, an expert linker making as much as seven feet a 



172 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

day, which, considering there are some 85 Hnks to the 
inch, is "going some." The girls work in groups or 
teams, each team having a foreman who stiffens the 
chain with iron binding wire, charges on the minute pel- 
lets of solder and "blows" it off. This is a tedious job. 
Every second link only is soldered, as otherwise a stiff 
chain would be the result. The corn chain is made of 
round links closely linked and soldered. The foxtail is 
machine-made. A curb chain is made by linking up the 
regular cable chain, fastening one end into a bench vise, 
holding the loose end with a pair of pliers and twisting. 
A close curb is made by winding the rings on an oval arbor 
just large enough diameter so that after sawing the links 
apart they will just link up, with no loose motion. After 
curbing you will have a fine close curb. 

In making links for enameling the hollow wire is best. 
Fig. 15 shows a piece of enameled chain made of hollow 
wire drawn up out of 60 stock in dial screw gauge. The 
seam is soldered and then drawn down to the desired 
thickness, sawed off into lengths and little washers or 
caps soldered on the ends; or, better yet, strips are 
turned off in a high-speed lathe, leaving little edges on 
each end as a stop line for the enamel. This last is by 
all means the best, as no solder is applied, and a sharper, 
cleaner stop line is obtained. 

A silky effect is given to transparent enamel by groov- 
ing the link with a lining graver while in the lathe. Other 
effects are secured by engine turning or by "wriggling" 
with a flat bottom graver. Pearls are let in chain to 
enhance the beauty of a necklace; an inexpensive 
method of attaching them is to run a wire through, bend 
an eye on each end and twist a little of the wire to pre- 
vent its pulling out. Another and better way for larger 
pearls is to run a hollow wire through, having ring on one 
end and tapped on the other for a screw wire which is 
screwed in, this having a connecting ring on its end also. 
To prevent it from unscrewing easily, heat and put in a 
little pearl cement or gum mastic. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



173 



CHAPTER XLII. 




MAKING FLOWER WORK. 
Flower Designs are Always Staple — Few Tools Necessary for 
Successful Competition — Details of the Pansy — Making 
the Plaster Form — To Soften Modeling Wax — Setting 
Up for Enameling — Cheaper to Buy Findings than to 
Make Them — Good Work for Apprentices. 

CERTAIN designs or patterns in jewelry will always 
be staple, and of these none will endure longer 
than flower work. There is always a sentiment, 
real or fancied, in connection with the gift or purchase 
of a piece of jewelry of 
which a pansy, clover, vio- r^ | 

let or other flower forms 

the design. Aside from > — ^^^ " ^ '-• 

this, a flower pin is a most C ^^ 
practical article, as it may \ /^ 
be enameled to match 
the one blooming in the 
garden, black for mourn- 
ing, or the various tints 
and shades of purple to 
lavender, and finally may 
be made Roman or rose 
color. The average 
flower pin is an inexpen- 
sive design in the mak- 
ing, and the value shows 
up well, as the work 
on the back is very 
little. 

As is well known, all 
manufacturing jewelers 
making brooches, scarf pins, earrings, etc., make flower 
jewelry and are equipped with all known labor-saving 



Fi<* »• 




174 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



devices; nevertheless, it need not deter the jeweler who 
has only a pair of flat rolls and a melting furnace from 
making this line of goods and competing successfully. 
There are any number of shops making the finest of 
goods to-day which for lack of space or other reasons 
make all hand work. Some of the finest models of the 
English double violet are sawed out by hand. The 
writer gives here some practical tips on the making of 
flower work. 

Taking up the making of a pansy, we look at design 
No. I, shown herewith. This is five separate petals sol- 
dered together in a plaster of paris form. The design 
is first transferred onto brass and the petals sawed out. 
Three shapes only are needed, as the four top petals are 
rights and lefts. The brass should be rolled a little hard, 
about 60 points thick, in the dial screw gauge; after you 
get them out a second set of brasses should be cut out, 
annealed and dapped up to shape. This second pansy is 
set up on jewelers' modeling or impression wax, and a 
collar of brass or sheet iron fitted around it; after oiling 

the brass pieces, plaster 
F((t ^ A/v <^ ^ paris, mixed rather thin 

with water, is poured in 
and allowed to become 
hard. After about an 
hour the plaster will 
have hardened, when it 
can easily be removed 
from the wax. It is then 
placed in an oven or an 
annealing furnace and 
baked. The brass form 
is then removed, boiled 
out in pickle and placed 
back in the form and 
soldered together. It is 
then braced and care- 
as a reference and for 
the making of new plaster forms. A large form may 






fully put away to be kept 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



175 





be made stiffer by laying pieces of iron wire in the 
liquid plaster after it is poured over the^ pattern. A little 
salt is sometimes mixed in to make it* harden quicker. 
The modeling wax purchased from the material houses is 
usually a little hard. It is made softer and more pliable 
by the addition of a little lard while in a melted state in 
a ladle or saucepan. Be 

very sparing in adding the ri<4^ ^"f ^• 

lard: a quarter of a tea- 
spoonful will go a great way. 
When your brass pat- 
tern is judged to be cor- 
rect and the flat pieces 
are trimmed up as per 
any changes, you are 
ready to make any num- 
ber of pins of this size. 
Any size can be made by 
simply keeping the petals 
the same proportionate 
size. For instance, a 
size larger pin is made by 
sawing each petal out 
about I -1 6" wider all 
round. The petals are 
dapped up to shape in a 
lead cake. Get a thick 
piece of lead from your 
plumber, or melt a lot 
of scrap in a ladle and 
pour into an old iron pot which has been slightly oiled. 
The steel punches are made from various thicknesses of 
rods purchased from the hardware store. A set of grad- 
uated ball punches is very useful. The knife edge, or 
other shapes, may be filed up as occasion requires. To 
get the sharp vein, as in the center of the petals of the 
clover, a copper or brass block is used. The impression 
is hammered in to a certain extent by the punch and 






Fi(, -^-/^ 




176 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

additional modeling given to the block by carefully cut- 
ting out with gravers. 

For enamel work the stock used is 75 points in dial 
screw gauge, and in those designs showing a stone edge 
or border the stone strips soldered on are 50 points thick. 
Sometimes, as in the case of a large pansy, it is advisable 
to use stock thick enough for setting in the first place. 
In this case 120 points will be all right; the stone setter 
"lays" out the edge for the size pearls or stones to be 
set, then it goes to the engraver, who cuts away the cen- 
ter, lowering the surface about 40 points for enameling. 
Roman, variegated gold, or rose finished pins may be 
safely cut out of 60-point stock. The petals are first 
soldered together, then wire braces connecting each petal 
are applied. The center at the back is filed flat and a ring 
or collet soldered to give strength and to act as recess 
for the setting. Where a pearl is to be pegged on, a peg 
may be soldered right in the center. The strip "bridge" 
for the joint and catch is a piece of the same wire as the 
braces, rolled flat and soldered across at a slight angle. 

The joints, catches, pin tongues, settings, etc., are pur- 
chased from the makers of jewelers' findings, and unless 
one is using thousands of these it is cheaper to buy than 
make them yourself, as a number of tools are used in 
making these parts, and repairs are often necessary. 
The cost of purchase over the gold accoun^t is a mere 
trifle. 

In sawing out petals always leave the stem a little long, 
as it will shorten somewhat in the dapping up. A good 
rule to remember is that you can always take off, whereas 
it is not so easy or economical to put on. Sometimes it 
has been found hard to get work for the appi'entice boys. 
After they have learned to solder, give them a piece 
of silver and the brass patterns and let them saw out 
and dap up these flowers. It will be of great interest 
to them and is excellent training and experience. Silver 
jewelry to-day is enameled in all colors, also finished in 
all styles of color, from the Roman to the antique. They 
will make either pins or hat pins and are staple stock. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 177 



The clover styles of Fig. 2 are simply made by sol- 
dering four of the same size petals together. You will 
notice Fig. 4 is made of different sizes. The neatest 
violet is made out of five separate petals, although a 
skillful jeweler can get it out of one piece, as in Fig. 3. 
This is sawed out as shown at Fig. 3-A, dapped (after 
the petals are twisted a little) well in center with a small 
ball punch. 



178 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 



MAKING A LINE OF PINS. 
Under Various Names a Most Useful Article of Jewelry — 
Always Find Ready Sale — Many Styles, Plain and with 
Stone Settings, Made by Thousands — A Few Good 
Sellers — Details of Manufacture. 

THE elongated pins, under their various titles — bib, 
handy, waist, collar, dress, belt, girdle, veil, and 
automobile pins — are, in conjunction with the 
collar button and links, the most useful article of jewelry 
made to-day; anything new and strikingly original will 
always find a ready sale. In connection with this article, 
the writer has sketched a few of the most popular sellers 
for the past few years. 

Fig. I is the plain pin, which is raised in the die out of 
as thin as 30 stock, dial screw gauge, for plain gold fin- 
ish, or of 40 stock for 
enameling. The better 
shops solder on a back, 
thus giving the appear- 
ance of a solid pin. 
The I o-karat houses 
usually strike up the 
front with a high edge 
"wall," which is 
carefully filed on the 
extreme edge so as to 
turn over in the curl- 
ing tools. Two sets of 
dies are used, one 
plain for gold finish, 




fi^. ^. 



^/<^. ^ 




HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 179 



and the other with a 
stop line for enamel- 
ing. Where the jew- ^f^. 4^- 
eler does not contem- 
plate making a big 
line of these pins, 
these two dies (for 
this length pin) will 

suffice in raising the ^/C^ K" 

plain blanks for pearl 
or stone ornamenta- 
tion, for engraving, 
etc. 

Fig. 2 shows a narrow, pointed style, with a pearl strip, 
50 points thick soldered on, — on the front outside, if 
for enameling, and inside the pin, if for plain Roman. 

In Fig. 3 the pearls are set in little caps, which are cut 
out and soldered on. In the case of enameling, the best 
quality of solder must be used and the caps dapped 
up to fit the surface thoroughly and snugly before sol- 
dering. 

Shops making these pins by the thousands, in all the 
various combinations of pearl trimming, colors of enamel, 
and in sizes from ^ inch to 3 inches or longer, have dies 
for nearly every style. This, it will be noted, is a most 
expensive undertaking, and would certainly not pay 
unless the output was large. 

In setting pearls, as in Fig. 2, do not use any smaller 
than No. 5 half-pearls, as those smaller than this size 
invariably turn black quickly. It is much better to 
raise gold beads. In Fig. 3 a number 8 or 9 half-pearl is 
a good size, although smaller may be used, as in a shorter 
pin it is advisable to have the center pearl a size larger. 
Fig. 4 shows a spray of leaves soldered on to a frame. 
The stone boxes in all the regular staple sizes may be pur- 
chased from setting makers much cheaper than the 
smaller shops can make them. The leaves are cut out, 
and may be bought also. 



i8o 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



f/Q.C 



ti<^'r. 



Fi<^ 8. 



1 



Fig 5 is another popular pin. These pins in the 2-inch 
length are belt pins. They are made from about \yi> 

inches long up to five 
inches, which is the 
veil or auto pin. The 
leaf or ornament is 
set with pearls, dia- 
monds or other 
stones, or enameled 
in the various opaque 
or transparent colors. 
Of the stones, the 
amethyst is the most 
popular and inexpen- 
sive. The Montana 
sapphire probably 
comes next. AH kinds 
of stones are used, 
however. 

Fig. 6 shows a blunt 
or square end pin set 
with three square-cut 
stones and pearl 
paved. This style 
will admit of a great 
many combinations 
and lengths, the best 
seller being a set of 
pins in which a veil 
pin 2>^ inches long, 
a belt pin 2 inches, 
and two handy pins 
an inch and a quarter 
each are used. In making this style, first take a piece 
of gold 170 points thick and fit in your square stones 
so that they rest just on the edge, then solder a bezel 
around the outside, of about 40 stock, filing the bezel 
flush with the thick, flat piece where the pearls are to 
be set, and letting the bezel stick up to be pushed over 



/^/<r 9 




HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. i8i 



the cut stones by the setter. Leave a Httle wider than the 
yridth of the stone so that the setter can have some stock 
to wrap around the corners. The bezel should be deep 
enough so as to project from the back about as much as 
is left on the front. This applies to all work of this 
nature, crosses, etc. 

In Fig. 7 a thick knife-edge or three-cornered wire is 
used. The settings are let in and well soldered, then 
pearl pegs applied between ; the bar is then sawed out in 
the settings, a joint and catch soldered on, and the pin is 
made. In order to make a pin that will fit snugly to dress, 
not stick up too high or "flop" over, the bar is filed three- 
cornered out of square wire and the settings let in as low 
as is possible. This style of pin is easy for a modest 
little shop to make, as the setting, pearl caps, joints and 
catches and pin tongues may be bought about as cheap as 
any ordinary manufacturer can make them. 

Fig. 8 is made as Fig. 6, with a row of square stones 
set in a bezel down the center. Fig. 9 is a frame with the 
bars soldered across for stones, or cut for enamel, leav- 
ing just enough space between for the square stone, which 
is held in by four clamps that are soldered on. The bars 
should project over the edge of the frame so that when 
the clamps are applied the outside edge may be trued up 
flush with a file. This is a very effective pin and will 
admit of any number of lengths or combinations. 

In Fig. 10 the pearl center is cut out so that a pearl 
peg wire may be let in for a tapered row of whole pearls. 
In making this kind of pin bear in mind that the square- 
cut stones must be let in as far as possible so as to bring 
up the half-pearls to as near a level as the girdle of the 
stones. In Fig. 10 particularly, the whole pearl center is 
let down well, or the pearls in the outside strips and the 
square stones (particularly the center one) will present 
a sunken appearance. 

In making pins for enamel, as in Figs, i, 2, 3, the joint 
is kept at least from one-eighth to three-sixteenths of an 
inch from the tip so as to avoid chipping of the enamel 



1 82 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



in the pinning up. Of course, in the longer pins the dis- 
tance may be more. It may be of interest to know that 
during the rush on the "merry widow" pins, from fifteen 
hundred to two thousand of them were made every day 
for several months by the creator of this pattern in 14- 
karat stock. As before stated, the bib or belt pin is 
regarded as a necessary article, and the man who comes 
along with something attractive and reasonable in cost 
will get business. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWJ^LRY. 183 



CHAPTER XLIV. 



HORSESHOE JEWELRY. 

Points on Making This Popular Pattern — Two General Out- 
lines Used — Good Luck Emblems in Black — Solid Stock 
vs. Hollow Work — Cutting Out Blanks — Must be Abso- 
lutely True — Wire Work — Setting with Pearls. 

THE horseshoe motif in the making of jewelry is 
more popularly known than that of any other 
design. Though the passing of the horse to a 
certain extent and the stringent laws with reference to 
betting at the race tracks have somewhat lessened the 
interest in horse jewelry in general, yet the shoe will 
always be a ready seller, by reason of its graceful sim- 
plicity of outline, the practical uses in applying other 
ornamentation, as flowers, sunbursts, or other fancy cen- 
ters, and, above all, the sentimental tradition of its bring- 
ing good luck to its wearer. No jewelry store would be 




considered as having a complete stock that did not carry 
at least a half-dozen patterns of horseshoes. 

In the manufacture of shoes, two outlines, as shown in 
Fig. I and Fig. 2, are used. Fig. i is a perfect circle on 
the outside, the inner line nearly so, slightly tapering to 
the outer line at the ends. Fig. 2 is called the egg-shape 



I84 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

shoe, and is probably the most generally used. This is 
made by first describing two half-circles to the dotted 
line, then continuing the lines on down by using A A as 
centers to describe each opposite outside line, and B B 
as centers for the inside edge. These two outlines of 
shoes of course are altered to suit the individual; some 
like Fig. i just a little of¥ the round, while others pre- 
fer Fig. 2 rounded just a trifle more, or the ends not 
quite so long, etc. 

Shoes, as we know, are made in all sizes, styles and 
ornamentation, even being made in black enamel, both 
plain and set with diamonds, pearls, or other gems, these 
finding ready sale as mourning jewelry in the finest 
stores. The writer has never quite figured it out whether 
these black shoes are worn as emblems of good luck at the 
departure of the deceased, or as a hope of making another 
lucky catch. We felt the limit had sometimes been 
reached when customers would order the joint and catch 
put on the reverse way in having black shoes made to 
order, so the points would stick up to keep the luck from 
"running out." However, we digress somewhat. 

It has been and is a matter of question, with makers of 
shoes as well as other work, whether it is cheaper in the 
long run to raise work hollow out of thinnest possible 
stock, soldering on backs, or to raise the article solid. 
In the writer's opinion, the larger sizes should be raised 
hollow for plain gold, or where nails or stone pieces are 
to be afterwards applied, but advises that all scarf pin 
sizes be raised solid. The few cents' worth of extra gold 
is more than offset by the labor in making hollow pieces, 
the breaking of forces, etc. Pins one and one-half inches 
in diameter are raised out of 40-point stock in dial screw 
gauge. In any smaller size for enameling this gauge 
should be used, or thicker for large sizes. As thin as 20 
points may be used for plain gold, while 30 points is about 
the average thickness for scarf pins. 

The plain blanks for setting, or paving all over with 
half-pearls, are cut out with two sets of cutters. The out- 
line is first cut out, the cutters changed and the blank 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 185 

placed in the press on a cutter having a gauge plate 
screwed on the face bearing the outline of the shoe. The 
blank fitting snugly in this, the center is now cut out and 
the shoe is ready for soldering on joint and catch or pin 
stem. Any thickness of stock may be cut out with two 
sets of cutters. Certain small hollow sizes of very thin 
stock may be cut out by making one cutter. About the 
thinnest stock used for pearl setting, unless reinforced on 
back by wire or other trimming, is 155 points. That used 
for small brooch sizes begins at 170 points, running up 
as high as 300 points in extreme sizes. 

An excellent 14-karat stock for pearl pave is: Fine 
gold, 14 parts; fine silver, 7 parts; shot copper, 3 parts. 
A fine lo-karat is composed of: Fine gold, 10 parts; 
silver, 6 parts; Guinea alloy, 6 parts; copper, 2 parts. 

In sawing out shoes first cut a pattern out of hard 
brass of about 60 points thickness. If the pattern is 
traced on from design, true it up with dividers before 
sawing out. A firm may not find it pays to make dies 
and tools for certain extreme sizes; a brass pattern may 
be used for years if kept properly. In marking on the 
gold from the brass pattern leave the gold black from the 
annealing furnace, as the outline can be seen much 
better; no matter how true your brass may be, go over 
the gold outline also with your dividers. There is many a 
shoe sawn out with "shoulders" or points. The mark- 
ing point may not always be held at the same angle in 
going round the brass form and a hump sticks out here 
or there. A shoe is nothing if not absolutely true. Also 
learn to train the eye in accuracy. Do not depend 
altogether on tools. 

Wire or knife-edge work is bent and annealed on sheet 
iron forms. These sheet irons should be drilled all over 
as much as possible to facilitate heating and also as a 
means of tying on the iron binding wire. The twist wire 
pins, as wire bent in rope form around whole pearls or 
settings for stones are called, are bent or braided over 
steel pins securely fastened on a sheet iron plate. This 
plate in turn is secured to a wooden block which may be 



1 86 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



held in vise. After the pin is shaped, unscrew from the 
wooden block and anneal on the form. When cool 
remove the pin from the form and the shape will be 
retained. 

Whole pearl shoes, where pearls are of one size, may 
be made by using a regular peg gallery strengthened by 
fitting it over round hollow wire with the seam opened 
enough to let in gallery, which is soldered to the hollow 
wire at base of pegs. The wire is first cut the right width, 
drawn over copper, bent to exact shape and the copper 
eaten out in a solution of equal parts nitric acid C. P. 
and water. In lo-karat work use one-third acid to two- 
thirds water. In small work where hollow wire is not 
large, the piece may be soldered on straight and after- 
wards bent into shoe shape. 

Another way of making whole pearl shoes, especially 
where the pearls graduate in size, is to bend up a solid 
piece of square wire, mark on spaces and drill about half- 
way through, or just enough to stick in peg for soldering. 
A great many jewelers make the mistake of drilling all 
the way through, trusting to the soldering to fill up and 
make a good job. As a matter of fact, pin holes develop, 
or the solder shows so the job is generally unsatisfactory. 
The round peg wire being forced in the hole it oftentimes 
happens some of the pegs drop out, the solder not having 
flushed through, and this does not show until the pin has 
been polished, pinned up and perhaps a number of the 
pearls already cemented on. 

As before remarked, the hole should extend about half- 
way through and square peg wire used, for the reason 
that a little space will be left at the hole for the solder to 
run in and take hold. Another good reason for using 
square wire is that it may be twisted, thus affording extra 
clutch for the pearl and cement. After drilling, the pin 
should be well annealed and boiled out in pickle to 
remove all traces of oil or grease. 

One house making whole pearl jewelry does not drill 
for pegs at all, simply standing the pegs on the frame by 
using gum tragacanth mixed up with the borax. This is 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 187 



a quick way, but does not make as good a job as drilling, 
as, the hole being slightly countersunk, the pearl fits more 
snugly into the frame. 

In soldering on joint and catch be sure to solder enough 
above center of gravity so that pin will not "rock" or be 
"top heavy" while being worn. 



i88 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XLV. 



THE MALTESE CROSS IN EMBLEMS. 
A Sure Way to Get Results — A Popular Shape in Badge 
Work — Perfectly True Form the First Requisite — Flat- 
tening the Plates — Cast Pieces for Heavy Work. 

DO you know how to make a Maltese cross? No? 
Why, just pull its tail. This merry quip has seen 
active service for a great many years, and will 
undoubtedly be pulled off for a number of years to come 
in the emblem shops. As is well known, in Masonic 
jewelry the Maltese cross is used extensively, and the 
shape, with its possible modifications, is the motif in a 
great deal of badge work. To make a mounted or hol- 
low cross get a piece of sheet iron about the thickness of 
a half-dollar, file two sides at right angles, using a steel 
square to true up with. Then mark off the other two 
sides with the dividers, saw out and file a perfect square. 
Everything depends on the iron form being absolutely 
true; a cross is nothing if not true. 

Presuming we are making a one-inch diameter cross, 
the form is made a little smaller to allow for thickness of 
stock, which should be about 40 points dial screw gauge. 
See that edges of the form are vertical and file off cor- 
ners so as to permit soldering with less heat. The iron 
form is drilled full of holes for the same reason and also 
for convenience in tying on iron binding wire. See Fig. i. 

In preparing the bezel stock as shown in Fig. 2, round 
wire is rolled flat or strips may be cut off in rotary or reg- 
ular hand shears. The jointing should be carefully made 
so that the bezel does not shift or fall over in subsequent 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



189 



soldering on of the back and front plates. The strips 
are left a little long ; first tie on one strip, then shove next 
up against it and so on. Use hardest possible solder. 
Having gotten our frame properly made, boil out in pickle 



/=•/<?. / 



F/<r. £ 




and solder on to plate, using an easier solder. The arms 
or corners are made of the same stock as the bezel and 
are shaped up on the end of an old file, which is filed to 
desired width and nicked in the end. This file is also 
used as a force, if sharper angles are wanted, by filing 
out a slot in a steel block. 

Fig. 3 shows how the inside is cross-lined and circled 
to get the corners absolutely in line and to same point in 
center. Posts, hollow wire, or other stiffening supports 
are also soldered in center to keep both sides flat and pre- 
vent a sagging or sinking in at the center. The plate is 
sawn out if onyx is to be fitted in, or other openwork is 
wanted. At all events, be sure to saw out plate in corners 
before soldering on back plate. After applying this plate 
and making sure the seam is well soldered, the cross is 
carefully filed up, as in Fig. 4. Keep the arms narrow 
or you will have too much open space and not enough 
cross. 

Machinery is now used in factories making these goods 
in rolled plate, etc., whereby the frame is made complete 
in one piece, but the 14-karat shops, by reason of the 
numerous individual orders as to sizes, still continue to 



190 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

make everything by hand. The front and back plates 
are made of fairly thin stock from 35 to 40 points, and are 
made perfectly flat before soldering to the bezel. This is 
done by getting two plates of steel with one surface flat 




l^__^ 



and smooth, and laying gold plates in between brass or 
copper outside plates, to prevent possible scales burning 
on the gold. Then place the steel plates outside of all, 
firmly bind with heavy iron wire and anneal red (dull). 
Remove and squeeze in a vise while still hot. 

Heavier gold plates are flattened between red-hot steel 
blocks. The plates are laid on one block, as many as will 
cover it at a time, and the other red-hot die or block 
placed on top. In a moment or two the plates will be red 
hot, when gently tap with a hammer, lift off the die, 
remove plates, and place others on. A number of pieces 
may be flattened before the dies cool off, when, of course, 
they are reheated. The dies should never be allowed to 
get too hot, as gold is apt to be melted or burnt on them; 
then again the die is being ruined, gets scaly, etc. A dull 
red is plent}^ hot enough. 

Most emblems are now inlaid on work by passing plates 
through roll dies. These rolls have the emblems engraved 
on them so that a final touching up is all that is necessary 
on the part of the engraver or enamel cutter. 

Thick, heavy, and massive parts are usually cast first 
and then finished by hammering in a die. The large 
double eagles are gotten out in this way. Other work, as 
compass and square for charms, is made heavy by first 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 191 



cutting out of as thick stock as the cutter plate and punch 
will stand (about 150 points in 14-karat) and soldering 
two or more together until the desired thickness is 
attained, when sides are carefully filed up, scraped and 
polished. Sometimes in special orders a very thick 
charm is to be sawn out of one piece of gold. This, of 
course, is at a special price, and great skill is required to 
get both sides alike. The chief requisites in making 
emblem jewelry are to have squares, triangles, crosses, 
etc., absolutely true and perfectly flat, so that there is no 
danger of going through in the final lapping and finishing. 



192 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 



SOME ATTRACTIVE NOVELTIES. 
Bar Pins and Bracelets with Ribbon Background — Ribbon 
Plaques — Scarf Pins with Stone Backs — The Arrow Veil 
Pin — Ribbon Bows — Plaque Frames for Stringing 
Pearls. 

HEREWITH are shown some sketches of novelties 
in jewelry. As before noted, the man who can 
come along with some new, practical and appeal- 
ing novelty will get business — sometimes the producer 
does not get it, but, as our old friend, Rudyard Kipling, 
says, "That is another story." 

-J, y Fig. I shows an 

**'^' ' openwork bar pin, 

in which ribbon is 
used as a back- 
ground. These 
pins are made in 
all sizes from one 
and a quarter 
inches to two and 
a half inches and 
lofiger. Complete 
sets are also made 
comprising a 
bracelet and pins 
of various lengths. 
This pattern is 
made in 14-karat 
gold ; also in plati- 
num front and in 
all platinum. They 
are set in diamonds, whole pearls, and half-pearls. 
Varicolored ribbons are used so that the wearer may 







m'mm!^mmmmmi 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



193 



have different appearing pins to match the dress. 
The ribbon is easily changed by unfastening the little 
hasp at the back (see "B") and lifting up the entire 
back, which works on a joint. All styles of designs are 
used, tools and cutters being made for those there is 



/^/9- 3 



any demand for. Fig. 2 shows 
an effective mounting for three 
stones, and "B" shows a lower- 
priced arrangement for holding 
in the ribbon, doing away with 
the labor on the hinge and 
catch. 

Fig. 3 is a ribbon plaque 
made on the principle of the 
drum. The ribbon is stretched 
over an inner ring and held by 
another ring closing over. The 
ornaments are then attached 
by split pegs. This is best done 
with the aid of a cork cut smooth and fiat. The back 
ribbon is then added, and, lastly, the outside flange ring. 
Properly put together, these make very effective and 
low-priced pendants. They are made in various styles 
and sizes, in gold, platinum, and diamonds. 





F/GrS 




FfCr, ^ 




Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are styles of scarf pins with open cen- 
ters which are filled up by inserting flat slabs of stones 
from the back. These stones are cut from onyx, lapis 
lazuli and other semi-precious stuff, and are sliced as thin 



194 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



as possible. A few clamps, of either fine gold or green 

gold, carefully pressed over, holds the stone in place. Fig. 

/^ /- 5 shows the center drilled 

'^^. f through to hold a tube in 

^^^ \^^ V^'^^^ which a diamond or other 

/ / — / J^ stone is set. 






F/Q., /e 



Fig. 7 is an arrow veil pin 
— they have also been worn 
as scarf pins. These veil pins 
have been made in a number 
of sizes, in plain gold, pearl 
set, diamonds, enamel, and 
infinite combinations. 
B shows the back with the slot and snap connection. 
C shows the barb detached, ready for insertion. The 

prongs that hold the 
barb should be made 
out of hard wire; 14 
parts fine gold and 5 
parts each fine silver 
and copper is good ; they 
are soldered strongly, 
only at the end of the 
feather, so as to allow 
all the spring possible. 
The slot is made out of 
hollow wire drawn with a little smaller hole than the 
diameter of the wire stem. Then after soldering on the 




PiCt. it 




HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



195 



back of the feather (or haft) take and drill carefully to 

permit of pointed prong just going in enough to snap. 

Figs. 9, 10 and 

II are ribbon 

bowknots. The 

first two are 

made by bend- 
ing up flat wire 

over sheet iron 

forms. Fig. 11 

is sawn out of 

about 120 stock, 

pale gold for 

pearl setting, 

and little wires 

are soldered 

across the back 
of all to hold the ribbon. A little gold eye (ring) sol- 
dered here and there and a stitch or two of thread also 
help at times. 

Figs. 12 and 13 show effective plaques where frames 
are employed to permit of whole pearls being strung. 
These are very pretty and dainty when properly made 
and finished. Fig. 13 shows the center rigid with a dia- 
mond-shaped sapphire or other stone center. 





196 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 



MAKING EYEGLASS FRAMES. 

The Round Shape or "Oxfords" Becoming more Generally 

in Demand — Proper Stock to Use— Inserting the Joint 

Springs — Dimensions for Stock Sizes — Have "Sizer" for 

Cutting Lenses — Alloy for 14- Karat Frames and Springs. 

ROUND-SHAPED eyeglasses, while comparatively 
unknown outside of the store selling to people of 
means, yet are coming into more general use, 
and at least two manufacturing concerns in New York 
are making practically nothing but "Oxfords," as they 
are termed, and lorgnettes, or, to be correct, "lorgnons." 
Fig. I shows a drawing of an Oxford eyeglass which 
folds over and snaps at the handle and may be placed in 
the pocket or attached to a ribbon. Fig. 2 does not 




Folding Oxford. 



fold, is much simpler in construction, and is usually 
dangling on a ribbon ready for instant use. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



197 



The glasses are cut in three sizes, and when mounted 
are 40 mm., 42 mm. and 44 m.m. in diameter. Special 
diameters are made to order, ladies' sizes running as 
small as 35 mm. in diameter over all. The frames are 
made of half hollow wire tubing and are wound on a 
hollow iron mandrel well covered with paper. The 
wire should not be annealed before winding. After 
securing well on mandrel with plenty of iron binding 
wire, carefully anneal and the eyes or frames will be 
formed in a coil. 

The joint is covered by the screw hoUowwire, Fig. i, 
and a knuckle joint, made of about 75 points dial screw 
gauge thickness, and same diameter as hinge joints A, 
is soldered up against it. A steel wire coil spring is 
inserted in each of the hinge joints and the bridge, or 



FkIK 




Simple Oxford. 



flat connecting nose spring, B, is made of gold, well 
rolled and not annealed, to give further elasticity. The 
steel wire should be best piano wire, and when a good 
size, temper, etc., is found it is well to lay in a stock 
at once, as it does not always run well. Thicker wire 



198 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

is used in the right-hand glass, as this spring, in addition 
to opening, also has to carry the other glass. To insert, 
one end of the steel coil is secured in a slot next to rivet 
in center of the joint, and the other end is drawn snugly- 
through a hole at side and hooked over. There is quite 
a knack in this and much patience and experience are 
required. One man will "spring" up an Oxford in a half- 
hour and another will waste half a day and get nothing 
in the end. 

The hinge joint is made with tools and goes through 
several operations. The spring, B, is inserted in slotted 
ends at A and riveted with two rivets, as shown. The 
screw hollow wire is first cleaned out with a twist drill 
and then tapped and sawn through to admit of glass 
being put in. The saw cut should be somewhat V- 
shaped, as shown. To make a good joint and preclude 
possibility of screw coming loose it is best to have 
thread on both halves of hollow wire. If a saw is used 
that will take up space of one thread when glass is put 
in, the two ends will fit close. The easier plan is to 
open up side which has head of screw, simply depend- 
ing on other half to hold. This way admits of screw- 
ing up close, but there is more likelihood of screw loos- 
ening. 

The handle, D, is struck in two halves out of 35 stock 
and is fitted with a U-shaped piece to act as a runaway 
for folding eye. The click piece works on a coil spring 
and engages the mouthpiece, E. It is well to bear in 
mind, in making handles, to keep width as narrow as 
possible or there will be trouble in getting them to fold 
neatly. 

There are a number of clips or offsets in usie, all 
more or less patterned after other well-known eye- 
glasses, but the one that seems to find most favor is 
the so-called "loose offset," as shown at C. This being 
connected by only one post, will permit wider latitude 
in bending and twisting to fit the individual customer. 
G shows a front view of the same offset for which 
application for a patent has been made. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 199 



In making Oxford eyeglasses for stock, the distance 
between centers of lenses is kept at from 58 mm. to 60 
mm. ; with a 40 mm. frame, the space between the two 
frames is about 21 mm., and a 25 mm. space for 44 mm. 
glasses. The space for the nose is ordinarily made around 
13 mm. Of course in special orders all lengths or dis- 
tances are specified, as a customer might want more offset 
to keep glasses from touching sides of nose or brows, 
or less millimeter space, posts higher or lower than 
regular, and so on. 

All stock glasses are neutral and care must be had 
to see that both eyes are exactly the same size and 
that glass is tight and does not turn after screwing up 
tightly. In getting glasses cut, have a sizer made of 
same thickness and width of eye wire. Do not simply 
order by diameter only. For instance, a 40 mm. Oxford 
takes about a 38>^ mm. glass. The glass cutter would 
get out a full 38^^, or his gauge may not be exact, or 
the bevel edge cut a little too blunt or sharp. Send a 
sizer along each time and have each glass fitted to it. 
A split handle is soldered to ends and it is an easy 
and sure method. 

The eye wires in Fig. 2 may be made higher than 
the other, as there are no springs or joints. Pieces of 
plate bent double are soldered on at A and the spring, 
B, is fitted in and riveted as shown. The screw hollow 
wires are soldered at the offsets and a small oval wire 
ring soldered on for the ribbon. An excellent 14-karat 
alloy for the frames and spring or nose pieces is: fine 
gold, 100 pennyweights; silver, 24 pennyweights; cop- 
per, 48 pennyweights. The offsets and handles, points, 
etc., may be made of a more malleable alloy, consisting 
of fine gold, 56 pennyweights; silver, 8 pennyweights; 
copper, 12 pennyweights, and pale Guinea alloy, 20 
pennyweights. 

A number of Oxfords are made in platinurti and in 
the frames a 20 per cent iridium platinum is used. 
This makes a frame almost as hard as steel, and by rea- 
son of the thinness of the stock used, keeps down the 



200 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



weight, which has to be considered, not alone for cost, 
but in keeping the glass as light as possible. As it 
is, they are more or less heavy and clumsy and cannot 
be worn for any great length of time. In the platinum 
Oxfords, Fig. i, the bridge spring is gold and is nickel 
plated, this being found the most practical method of 
manufacture. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 201 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 



HINTS ON SOLDERING. 
Hard Soldering as Distinguished from Soft Soldering — 
Judgment Required to Select Proper Solder for Average 
Repair Job — Composition of Solders — Repairing Rings 
— Soldering Enameled Jewelry. 

WHAT is hard soldering as distinguished from 
soft soldering? The average storekeeper will 
reply that it is a process whereby the job to be 
repaired is heated red-hot and joined with gold or silver 
of a quality a little lower than the article itself. This is 
true as far as it goes. The highest standard is reached 
.when a piece of jewelry is sweated together with a solder 
of which the component parts are of same alloy and in 
about the same proportion, and just enough more of the 
baser metals added to make the solder about two karats 
lower quality. A solder can also be made of same quality, 
as, for instance, certain hollow work is raised and filled 
so as to assay plump karat quality. This solder is brittle 
and can be used for no other purpose. A solder one karat 
baser can also be used, but there is danger of burning or 
blistering work. 

In large jewelry factories, where gold is alloyed, sol- 
der is also made for the work, and, knowing alloys used, 
it is an easy matter to make solder, but the shop doing all 
kinds of repairing on customers' jewelry, — possibly a shell 
brooch made in England, a bangle bracelet of unknown 
quality, or a ring stamped 14-karat and nearer 12-karat, 
or even on goods that are plump, as per stamp, — it is a 
matter of judgment and experience as to what solder to 
use. Sometimes a lo-karat solder will not run before a , 
stamped 14-karat job does and the solder is condemned. 
On the other hand, a 6-karat or 8-karat solder does not 
make as fine a job, and of course tarnishes quicker. 



202 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



The higher grade solders are made of gold, silver and 
copper, using a few grains of zinc or cadmium where no 
enameling is to be done over joint, and if these hard run- 
ning solders are applied to a repair job made of an alloy 
of gold, silver, copper and one of the various yellow, red 
or other alloys on the market, the danger of melting the 
job is more or less in evidence in proportion to amounts 
of alloys used; for instance, a 14-karat gold of 14 parts 
fine gold, 3 parts silver, 4 of copper and 3 of alloy, would 
melt easier than a 14-karat alloy of 14 fine gold, 2 silver, 
5 copper and 3 alloy. 

These different alloys are used by manufacturers to 
get certain results. An alloy of 14 pennyweights fine 
gold, 3 pennyweights 8 grains silver, and 6 pennyweights 
16 grains copper, makes an excellent hard, tough gold for 
knife-edge or wire work, frames for eyeglasses, etc., but 
would knock the life out of dies in comparatively short 
order, so that for the latter one of the formulas contain- 
ing alloy is used, these being more malleable and work- 
able. The least number of base metals in alloying, the 
less danger of melting, and do not use same weights or 
quantity. A lo-karat gold of 10 parts gold, 7 of silver 
and 7 of copper will make a hard spring gold, in fact, 
brittle almost, but will melt very easily. Alloys of any 
karat where metals are of the same proportion or nearly 
so, are used only for snaps for necklaces, bracelets, etc. 

Where possible, jobs to be soldered should first be 
tested, using the needles. By applying pure nitric acid, 
gold less than 12-karat usually turns black, and by adding 
a few drops (about 6) of muriatic acid C. P. to an ounce 
of nitric you will get a much more powerful acid which 
will turn i8-karat a brown color. 

Try best solder on repair work, and if it will not run 
let cool, re-borax lightly and add a tiny pellicle of a lower 
grade solder. This will usually melt, carrying the other 
along with it. The work must be absolutely clean and 
the joint well scraped or filed. See that there is no oil, 
beeswax, or other greasy substance on your files. In siz- 
ing rings, do not use beeswax on your saw. Just moisten 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 203 

with a little water or use dry. To make good joint, file 
V-shape slot in one end and file corresponding end taper- 
ing to fit snugly. Do not leave any space to be filled with 
solder; make a well-fitted joint. In putting a piece in a 
ring to make larger, or replacing thin shank, the same 
method of fitting is carried out. 

The solder is applied to inside of the ring and well 
flushed through. The new piece of gold should be very 
little thicker than gold to which it is to be soldered, thus 
saving a lot of filing. A lot of labor can also be saved in 
the polishing, if after the ring is fine emeried, it is care- 
fully gone over with a burnishef. This tool can be of 
hard steel, — an oval-shaped file makes a good one, — well 
smoothed off and polished on 4/0 emery paper. The 
ring only needs to be rouge-buffed in this case for final 
finishing. 

Diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds may be 
heated red-hot without probable danger, yet it is good 
policy to remove them before soldering. Where you 
decide to take a chance, cover well with boracic acid, heat 
slowly and let cool by itself. In boiling out do not run 
in cold water at once after pouring off pickle. For small 
repair work, the jeweler can easily learn to make his own 
solder. To make a 12-karat solder from 14-karat gold 
scraps, take 14 grains of the gold clippings, place in a hol- 
lowed out part of your charcoal block, and add 2 grains 
of silver (sterling) and 2 grains of brass, either wire or 
thin sheet. Well cover the brass, especially with the gold, 
drop in a little borax or sal ammoniac, place small pieces 
of charcoal around to get better heat, and melt into a 
button, flattening while warm with a file or steel block. 
Hammer out with frequent annealings to desired thinness. . 

To make about an 8-karat solder from lo-karat clip- 
pings, add 2 grains silver and 3 grains of brass to 10 
grains of gold. Any quality of solder can be made from 
any known karat gold in the following manner, viz.: 14- 
karat is 14-24 fine; by adding to the bottom figure we 
lower the standard; 14 pennyweights of 14-karat plus 4 
pennyweights of alloy is 14-28x24 fine = 12-karat; 10 



204 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



pennyweights of lo-karat plus 5 pennyweights of alloy is 
10-29 X 24 = 8 8-29-karat; 14 parts of 14-karat gold plus 
8 parts of silver and brass is 14-32 x 24 = io>^-karat for 
solder, and so on. 

Some of the prepared hard soldering fluids on the mar- 
ket are good, especially in soldering for enamel where pin 
holes are to be avoided, but for plain work a clean slate, 
bought for a few cents at a stationery store, and a piece of 
borax well rubbed up with clean water, will answer just 
as well for a flux. Boracic acid is used to keep a polished 
color and may be applied by boiling the article in the acid 
with water or by placing some of the acid in a bottle, cov- 
ering well with wood or grain alcohol; shake well, apply 
with a brush and ignite over gas or lamp. This will keep 
color as well as any of the anti-oxidizing fluids for sale. 

In soldering enamel jewelry, prop pin up with iron pins 
so that enamel does not touch the coal; use only a blue 
flame. A little practice will enable you to get this. See 
that no foreign matter is on enamel before heating. If 
white enamel shows a little smoky, it may be cleaned by 
rubbing with pumice powder and water. Frosted or 
etched enamel is re-dulled by dipping in hydrofluoric acid 
which has been weakened by carbonate of ammonia. In 
this case it is best to send to a regular enameler, as the 
operation is dangerous, and lead and rubber cups have 
to be used; also a flue is needed to carry oft' poisonous 
fumes. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 205 



CHAPTER XLIX. 



POLISHING AND BURNISHING. 
Methods and Mediums Employed^The Shop Equipment 
Necessary or Desirable — Brushes, Buffs, and Laps — 
Tubbing and Tumbling — Boiling Out before Burnish- 
ing — Lubricants for Ball-Burnishing. 

WORK for polishing as it leaves the jeweler's 
hands should be fine emery papered, using 
No. I paper. The principle of polishing simply 
consists in getting all scratches or marks out. Years ago 
powdered rottenstone and oil was the medium; now a 
preparation put up in bar form and called bar tripc5li is 
used for most work. Powdered tripoli and oil is also 
used. This powder cuts much quicker than the rotten- 
stone, and after rouging the finish is just as good. 

Large shops and factories are equipped with polishing 
lathes having suction blowers to draw away every particle 
of dust, polishing material, etc., as it flies off the brush or 
buff, and deposit it in a large bin or can, where it is col- 
lected at intervals, burned, and the gold or silver recov- 
ered. In addition to making it much more healthful, and 
a more desirable position for the polisher, the precious 
metals recovered more than pay for the cost of installing 
the blower. 

In the matter of buying outfits, there are several first- 
class concerns in Providence and New York who will be 
glad to send any one interested illustrated booklets, cir- 
culars, etc., of new and second-hand polishing lathes, with 
or without the blower. 

The spindle should run very fast to get best results, 
and for most work not to be lapped, brushes are used. 
These come in various sizes, those from 2}4 inches to 33^ 
inches diameter being the most popular. See that the 
brush is well charged with the tripoli. Work should be 



206 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



kept moving while against the brush, and may be held in 
a piece of leather, as the friction soon heats it rather too 
warm to hold. A very few moments suffice to polish out 
scratches. 

On flat work a wood lap is mostly used. These laps 
are made out of maple, and are purchased from supply 
houses and screwed on to a plate which fits to spindle 
of lathe. Charge the face of the lap with the bar tripoli 
and after lathe is running, press the work flat against the 
lap. As before said, work must first be smooth. 

For other work presenting a more or less flat surface, 
felt bufifs give the best results. These come in various 
widths and diameters ; those running }{ inch to ^ inch in 
width and about 3 inches diameter are most used for the 
general run of jewelry. The felt buffs also "break" the 
sharp edge after metal or wood lapping. 

To get inside of small places, where a brush or buff 
cannot reach, recourse is had to thrums. These are made 
from leather, chamois strips, etc., or sometimes string is 
used. In fine platinum and gold work an expert jeweler 
who can properly polish a finely and delicately made piece 
of diamond work is able to command good wages. 

When the work has been carefully polished it is washed 
out in a strong soda or lye solution. There are various 
cleansing solutions on the rnarket, but ordinary washing 
soda, in boiling hot water, with a dash of ammonia, will 
make an excellent wash. Get a stiff tampico washout 
brush, rub on soap, and after work has boiled a few min- 
utes remove and place on a board in the sink and tap the 
work with brush to loosen any particles of polishing paste, 
rinse well and dry in hot sawdust. Ovens and blowers 
are also used for rapidly drying the work. 

To get the beautiful luster or high polish, the work is 
now gone over again, using bar rouge of varying fineness 
or quality; for gold work it pays to use the best quality. 
There are special preparations for polishing platinum 
which may be purchased from supply houses; the 
brushes, bufifs, etc., are the same, and the same methods 
are followed as described above. While speaking of 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 207 

platinum, some houses use nothing but common whiting 
on the final polishing. 

After work is first brushed or buffed with the bar rouge 
the high luster is imparted by means of a cotton or flan- 
nel buff, called a rag wheel. A little powdered rouge, 
mixed with wood alcohol, is applied to work sometimes. 

Wash out work again as before, using clean solution, 
dry in hot boxwood sawdust. Shake or brush out the 
sawdust well and finish work by touching lightly against 
a clean cotton buff, running at high speed. The polishing 
buff and brushes should be kept separate and in a cov- 
ered box. 

The factories are now using tumbling barrels and tub- 
bing machines for polishing a great deal of work. The 
barrels work on an axis and are partly filled with mix- 
tures of sawdust and polishing material. 

The tubbing machine turns laterally, steel balls and a 
solution of ivory soap and water effecting the burnishing, 
and a very good finish is obtained, especially in work to 
be English finished, as, after gilding, the steel balls burnish 
the colors, giving a rich and a harder luster than that got- 
ten by buffing. Different shops use other mixtures in 
their tubs: soap bark, borax, tallow, bran water, etc.; but 
all that is wanted is a lubricant for the steel balls. 

Hand burnishers, made of steel, agate and bloodstone, 
come in very handy for some work. The steel burnisher 
must be kept bright by rubbing on a piece of chamois and 
rouge or by polishing on the rouge buff occasionally. For 
the agate and bloodstone burnishers putty powder is used. 

Work for burnishing should first be polished. For a 
lubricant use either soapy water (clean) or a little clean 
bran water, made by steeping a tablespoonful of bran in 
a cup of boiling water. Place work on a clean block of 
wood covered with cloth and keep wet while burnishing. 
Do not press too hard. In silver plating spoons, etc., 
various curved burnishers are needed. These can be 
purchased at jewelers' supply houses. After burnishing, 
the work is finished by soft bufiing with powdered rouge 
and alcohol. 



208 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



To get extra heavy plating, work may be plated and 
burnished, repeating the operation several times, if 
desired. This gets a much more durable deposit than if 
work received one long dip and only one burnish. Of 
course, in this case the soft bufhng is only done after 
final burnishing. 

The whole secret in polishing is to get all the scratches 
out without making the pieces of jewelry any lighter than 
absolutely necessary — not like an alleged lapper and 
polisher who applied for work, saying he was an expert 
on fine goods. Being put to work, he lapped away the 
side of a silver cigar case about the thickness of a fifty- 
cent piece. Upon inquiry, he was found to have worked 
formerly in a flatiron foundry. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 209 



CHAPTER L. 



CASTING IN CUTTLEFISH AND IN SAND. 

Making of Models Needs Careful Attention — Must be Formed 

to Leave Impression Freely — Cuttlefish Largely Used 

for Small Articles — How to Make the Mold — Melting 

and Pouring the Metal — Advantages of Sand Casting. 

TO get results in casting, considerable attention 
must first be paid to the models. These may be 
made out of brass, silver, tin, ivory, modeling 
wax or plaster of Paris. Silver is most generally used 
where much carving is done, as the metal is easy to work. 
Nothing perpendicular should be used as a model; 
rectangular models are tapered slightly, also the inside 
edges of rings; carved patterns must not be undercut; 
animals should not have the legs open or separated; these 
are cut apart afterwards. Parts like the tails of dogs, 
cats, antlers of stag, etc., are applied after the casting 
is made. The model, in other words, is so made that it 
will leave the impression freely. Models are generally 
made a little larger than the object desired, as the metal 
shrinks a little in cooling after pouring. If the model is 
found to be too small it may be "padded" by either 
painting with shellac dissolved in alcohol, or the shellac 
may be melted on the model and then carefully scraped 
or filed to the desired thickness. 

Cuttlefish, by reason of the facility with which it is 
handled, is largely used in the casting of small work, rings, 
ornaments, etc. It should be kept under a bench where 
there is a circulation of air, no dampness, and away from 
a stove or steampipes, as it is liable to rot or dry out and 
crumble in taking, the impressions. For a plain gypsy 
ring or similar work, two pieces are taken, about three 
times the surface area of the model, and faced flat on a 



2IO HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



piece of emery or sandpaper. The model is pressed 
half-way in one face about half an inch from the end, the 
other half now placed on top and pressed down close. 
Now saw or file the four sides flush and mark with four 
or five saw cuts on three sides. This is done so that when 
the two pieces of cuttlefish are pulled apart and the 
model removed you will be able to fit the mold together 
again exactly as it was. The end not marked with the 
saw is now carefully hollowed out and a "run" made to 
the impression about the thickness of the ring, remember- 
ing that the heavier part of any model is always at the 
bottom, or farthest away from the entrance or "gate" 
of the mold. In heads or other solid ornaments the 
run need not be over three-sixteenths of an inch in 
diameter. 

A few scratches are now made across both faces as 
air vents and held over a smoky lamp to blacken up well. 
This fills up the pores of the mold somewhat and makes 
a smoother casting. Now bind the two pieces together, 
after making sure no particles of cuttlefish have gotten 
loose in the mold; make sure that the saw-cuts exactly 
miter as they did when the model was in, and attach 
with more of the iron binding wire to your charcoal 
which has been hollowed out and has a run meeting the 
gate in the cuttlefish. 

In melting gold a much easier and more fluid casting 
is obtained by adding a few grains of zinc just before 
pouring, and this lessens the dangers of porous spots and 
specks. Be careful of the zinc, — only three or four grains 
to about fifteen pennyweights, — or gold will show pale and 
be brittle. On claw or cluster rings it is necessary to 
use three pieces of cuttlefish, the third piece being tied 
or pegged across one end of the other two. This end 
piece takes the head or setting of the ring. In using 
pegs, sharp double-pointed pieces of wood are used, one 
end being pressed in the face of the mold about half-way 
and the other half pressed down over same, as before 
described. It is also well to use iron binding wire to 
secure firmly. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 211 



The metal must not be poured too hot, and some experi- 
ence will be found necessary in judging just when to 
pour. In casting from a crucible where a dozen or more 
molds are filled it is necessary to move quickly, but an 
expert can shift from one to the other rapidly, and should 
the metal solidify before all the castings are made it is 
simply remelted. The rule usually is to let the crucible 
get a dark red down to the melted metal before pouring. 

Casting in sand calls for more outlay and experiment- 
ing at the start, but is cheaper in the end for larger 
pieces or for articles not calling for fine detail, like cluster 
rings, etc. Procure a casting flask from a jewelers' 
material supply house and some casting sand from a 
brass foundry, the finest they have, sift well to remove 
small stones, lumps, grit or other foreign substances, 
dampen with water and mix well. The sand for facing 
must be the finest of the sifted, and dusted with lyco- 
podium or pea flour. Place the eye side of the flask on a 
smooth board, and dust inside well with the facing sand. 
Then fill up with the casting sand previously dampened 
and mixed and press firmly into the flask, finally tapping 
down with a wooden mallet. Scrape edge smooth, 
place a board on top and invert the frame, lifting up the 
under board. 

Now place model in position and dust the face with the 
facing mixture and also a little fine charcoal powder in a 
bag; remove the model and the outline will be left on 
the sand. This is carefully cut out so the model may be 
let in about half-way. Now fit the peg side of flask into 
the eye side and fill with sand, being careful not to press 
too hard to avoid displacing the sand in the other half. 
Remove the peg side with a board cover, take out the 
model, scratch a few lines for air vents, cut out the gate 
and the run, carefully blow out any particles of loose 
sand with a hand bellows and smoke both faces well, 
using a very smoky lamp-rag soaked in linseed oil, or 
soot from a piece of stick dipped in pitch. 

Points to remember are that your sand must be well 
packed in the frames to prevent falling out while turn- 



212 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



ing over. The facing sand must be line and dried with 
the pea flour or lycopodium to prevent the moisture 
from sticking to the board or the face of the other frame, 
and dust the charcoal powder on before "sooting" to 
fill up the pores and prevent any action the molten metal 
might have in coming in contact with the sand. The 
casting sand must not be too damp, just enough to permit 
working and firmly pressing together. In this connec- 
tion some molders mix in a little molasses. 

The beginner would do well to experiment with rather 
plain solid objects, cat heads, or other animal heads, 
later on trying a bird flying, etc. When more familiar, 
sand working right, etc., a dozen or so pieces may be 
cast at once, using the one gate with a run to each model, 
the whole casting resembling pretty much a tree. In 
this case one can readily see the economy in using the 
sand, as the price of cuttlefish has advanced considerably, 
and desirable sizes are also hard to get. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 213 



CHAPTER LI. 
PRACTICAL HINTS FOR WORKING JEWELERS. 



Venice Turpentine for Polished Work — How to Make the 
Solution — Coloring Soft Solder — Soldering Hints — 
Use Caution with Cement-filled Jobs — Soft Soldering 
on Pearl Paved Work — Fixing up Cheap Jobs. 

VENICE Turpentine — This is a soft soldering solu- 
tion made by dropping resin (obtained from your 
plumber or tinsmith for a few pennies) into spir- 
its of turpentine, and leaving until dissolved. This may 
take a few days, until enough resin has been added to 
make solution the consistency of a syrup, or a little 
thicker, possibly. This soldering solution is used in join- 
ing polished and finished parts together, where it is not 
possible to do any further polishing, notably in assem- 
bling the different emblems of a badge or medal. Take, 
for instance, a Masonic emblem: the lapped, mirror- 
finished Maltese cross is to have a keystone applied on 
one side and a Knight Templar cross with double eagle 
on the other. When it is impossible to attach these parts 
by any more riveting, they are soft soldered on. Bear 
in mind to have solution thick. The solder will run only 
where the "Venice" is applied, hence there is no danger 
of smearing over work unless the solution is too thin and 
runs about. After soldering and before getting quite 
cool, the article is plunged into alcohol (either grain or 
wood) , when any sediment is instantly removed and the 
article is clean and ready for shipping. 



To Color Soft Solder — After soldering, moisten by 
dipping a piece of wood into a solution of sulphuric acid 
I part, water 9 parts, well rubbing over the part, which 
should be previously cleaned from all traces of soldering 
acid by well washing and brushing with clean cold water 



214 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



only. Touch with the freshly filed end of a piece of iron 
wire or nail and a red color will show. If a yellow color 
is now desired, after drying again moisten with the acid 
and touch with a piece of zinc. In larger work the 
article is first thoroughly cleaned by dipping in a potash 
lye solution to remove dirt or grease, then brushed with 
a brass brush and dipped or painted over with a solu- 
tion of sulphate of copper dissolved in boiling water; let 
dry, moisten with acid as before and touch with iron. 
The above recipes are good for making a background 
for the final dip in the gilding solution, or even where 
it is desired to get a cleaner job. 



Soldering Hints — In all jobs that come in for sol- 
dering be sure to examine the articles thoroughly before 
going ahead; see that no other parts are soft soldered 
near the broken place, which might be liable to become 
unsoldered and make trouble for you. Always see that 
the work is free from dirt or grease and that the cheaper 
rolled plate articles are not filled with cement. Scrape 
well the parts to be soldered, use only enough acid to 
moisten well, have the parts fit snugly; do not depend on 
solder filling up crevices. In the case of cement filled 
jobs it is generally best to use a soldering iron. This 
iron is best heated by resting in a fork made of iron wire 
so that the point is in the gas flame. Do not allow it to 
get red-hot. Regulate your gas jet so that after the iron 
gets hot enough, it will stay at about a soldering heat. 
Solder as quickly as possible to prevent any heating of 
the cement and a possible squirting out of the same. 

In soft soldering tableware try all the parts of the 
article before proceeding. Many a job has been a "dead- 
head" from simply taking for granted that the whole 
piece was hard metal, just because a part of it was; 
after going merrily along and blowing away there is a 
sinking in of the bottom or side, as the case may be, and 
a couple of hours' work (for nothing) is now confronting 
you. In repairing this kind of work, little strips of zinc, 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 215 

white metal, German silver, nickel, etc., can be used to 
advantage. Oftentimes a fracture obstinately refuses to 
solder; let it cool, scrape well, drop in a clean piece of 
metal and you will get a secure joint. Men who are 
expert in repairing "lead" ware use the mouth blowpipe, 
as being the quicker way, but the average shop jeweler 
would do better to stick to the copper soldering iron. 

A good soft solder is made of 2 parts lead and i part 
tin; a softer one is made by using more lead. It is gen- 
erally best to use the solder supplied by reliable supply 
houses, although it may be made by melting in an iron 
ladle over a coal fire and stirring well. 



To Soft Solder a Joint or Catch on a Pearl-Paved 
Pin or Brooch — Where the space is limited, as in a sun- 
burst, first fit a plate, letting it run down at both sides, 
then hard solder joint or catch to the plate; remove one 
or two pearls and drill a small hole through. A peg is 
soldered on to the plate, which is now carefully soft sol- 
dered to the brooch, using soldering iron. The peg com- 
ing through the hole is cut off and gently riveted, and 
the pearls reset. The brooch during the soldering should 
be wrapped in wet tissue paper, and if fearful of spoil- 
ing, it is best to remove a few more pearls at the solder- 
ing point. A knife-edge job is done in the same manner, 
excepting that a rivet goes right through both sides of the 
plate piece and the knife-edge wire, which being riveted 
on both ends like a pin joint, is made firm and secure. 
Where the surface will permit, use as large a plate as pos- 
sible, to which the joint, catch, or scarf pin is first hard 
spidered and polished, before soft soldering to the job. 
In all this kind of work the zinc muriatic acid is used, 
and if solder is moistened as well as other parts very 
little acid is necessary. To get a clean joint, first run the 
solder on the plate, scrape off scum and an excess of 
solder, then just moisten both parts to be connected, 
apply a small pointed flame (or a soldering iron) and as 
soon as solder runs cease blowing. There are a number 



2i6 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. ' 



of tweezers, pliers and other devices on the market for 
holding parts together, but whatever you use, be sure 
that solder doesn't run out and solder tweezers and all. 
At the same time be certain that a good joint has been 
made. Some repairers prefer, for a great many jobs, to 
use an alcohol lamp, holding work right in the flame. 
This is good, in that you can watch closely for solder to 
run, but is not so safe when the heat is required to be 
kept at the point of joining. 

In vari-colored gold or gilded goods, the acid is kept 
from running where it is not wanted by painting the parts 
with yellow ochre and water or whiting and water. In 
repairing an article that has been soft soldered in a num- 
ber of places, and there is danger of the whole thing 
coming apart, take fine iron binding wire and carefully 
bind so that none of the parts will pull or be detached 
in the soldering. This will oftentimes prevent a lot of 
trouble in fixing up cheap jobs. In taking in fine goods 
for repairing, the jeweler should endeavor to impress the 
customer with the desirability of having the article made 
as new; if the charges should be more than he or she is 
prepared to pay, the soft soldering methods as given in 
this article may be used. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 217 



CHAPTER LI I. 



PRACTICAL HINTS (Continued). 

Refilling Links and Repairing Link Chains — What to Tell 

the Customer — - Examine Thoroughly for Soft Solder — 

Attaching Metal Ferrules to Wood — Soldering Nests — 

Jointing Heavy Rings — Stripping Chloride Coatings. 

REFILLING and Renewing Chain Links — The re- 
pairer is frequently called upon to solder a heavy 
curb or open link vest chain. Before accepting 
such a job examine the other links and you will find that 
probably most of them need renewing. The average 
customer wears his chain until it is worn to such an ex- 
tent that a break occurs and he thinks it is only necessary 
to have it soldered. In a case like this show the chain 
to him and tell him it must be refilled with gold in order 
to put it in a dependable condition. 

Before proceeding, weigh the chain carefully, keeping 
a record, and weigh again after work is done so that you 
will know the amount of gold added. While good jobs 
are done by filling with solder only, yet a more durable 
job is made by fitting pieces of gold in the worn places. 
When the smaller rings of the chain are badly worn, it 
generally pays to replace them with entirely new rings, 
as the labor of refilling is more than the cost of the gold. 
The chain should first be annealed, boiled in pickle and 
the' parts to be filled scraped. The solder should be cut 
in pieces just large enough to fill nicely, or a little more, 
perhaps, to allow for polishing. If solder is well flushed 
it will fill up the worn end of the link, so that after polish- 
ing the chain will look as good as new. 

In refilling worn swivels, spring rings, etc., be sure to 
first remove the springs inside and carefully boil out the 
parts in water and ammonia after pickling, to kill all acid 
before putting the springs back in. Chains of small links, 



21 8 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



as cable chains in the form of necklaces, lorgnette or bag 
chains, when badly worn are best repaired by cutting out 
the weak parts and replacing with new sections. 

Of all chain patterns the one most botched in repairing 
is the rope or twisted design. The average repairer 
shoves the broken ends together and puts on a piece of 
solder large enough to solder a dozen feet, the result 
being, a stiff joint in the chain anywhere from a quarter of 
an inch to an inch and a half long, besides making an eye- 
sore of a job. The proper way is to first cut off the 
broken, jagged ends, and you will find two links -soldered 
together ; file end through with a needle file, or a fine saw 
will do. This operation is done on both ends; now link 
together, borax carefully, apply very thin and small 
pellicles of solder, and solder with small pointed flame. 
If properly done the chain will be flexible and as good as 
new. Be sure that chain is clean before soldering. 

In fastening connecting rings to the ends of rope chains 
the ring is opened to clutch the end of chain ; borax the 
joint only, and after letting it (Iry, in order to prevent 
possible running of solder into the links of the rope, paint 
with yellow ochre and water, being careful not to get any 
on the borax. If a quick pointed flame is used, however, 
there is little danger of solder running elsewhere. Some 
jewelers first run a little solder on the end of chain, then 
file flat and place ring against the part. This is double 
soldering and takes more time. 

Another thing to advise a customer is, that in the 
renewing of his vest chain it will finish a shorter length, 
as all the worn spaces will be filled up, thus bringing 
links closer together. It, of course, simply shortens chain 
to original length, but some customers get the idea that a 
link or two has been left out, and it is well to speak of 
this before rather than after the work is done. A chain 
of thirty links will take up an inch or more in refilling. 
In repolishing chains, unless the links are of the large, 
open kind, easy to get at with thrums (strips of chamois 
or string), the most practical way for the storekeeper 
doing his own repairing, is to brush well on the lathe. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 219 



using powdered tripoli and oil, wash well in boiling water 
with soap and ammonia, or a lye solution, to remove all 
grease, etc. Then give a quick flash in Roman solution. 
This will give a yellow tinge to parts not reached in pol- 
ishing, and after finishing with rouge brush, the chain will 
present a rich, highly polished finish. 

Before doing any hard soldering be sure to examine a 
chain thoroughly for any traces of soft solder. Some- 
times the more fancy chains have been repaired in this 
manner. 



To Attach Metal Ferrules to Wood — To put fer- 
rules, or bands of gold, silver or other metal on pipes, 
canes, umbrellas, etc., first get the size by cutting a strip 
of paper of desired length and width. This strip may be 
a little longer than necessary, so as to lap over when 
shaped around pipe. Run your fingernail down the seam 
and cut the metal accordingly. Make a good joint, hav- 
ing ends come together flat, rather than V-shape, and tie 
with iron binding wire, just tight enough to keep a joint. 
Borax well on inside and just moisten seam on the out- 
side; place on two or three pallions of solder and flush 
well through. Boil out and round up on tapered mandrel. 

Stock for ferrules should not be much less than forty 
points in dial screw gauge, and for square bands it should 
be a. little thicker. An excellent cement for fastening 
them on pi'pes, is mucilage and plaster Paris, mixed to a 
creamy consistency. Work quickly, as this sets rapidly, 
and be sure the ferrule fits properly before applying 
cement. 



Soldering Nests — Iron binding wire coiled, twisted, 
and somewhat hollowed in center, with a handle of 
thicker wire made by twisting four strands and bending 
their ends over the "nest," are an excellent soldering 
stunt. These hold the heat and are used for all work not 
requiring a flat surface. Another one is made by placing 



220 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



a few layers of wire mosquito netting together and clamp- 
ing by the aforesaid iron wire handle. These admit of 
getting a flame all around and under the work, and beat 
the charcoal or asbestos block a mile, where clean solder- 
ing and well flushed work is desired, and besides, will 
outlast many charcoal blocks. 



Jointing Heavy Rings — To bring ends of heavy 
rings together, wedding rings, etc., where it is difificult 
with small facilities to get them to touch, wind heavy 
binding wire around the ring and twist it to draw tight, 
then anneal, and if not well mitered, run your saw 
through, repeating the operation until you get a clean 
joint for soldering. Remember that good jointing obvi- 
ates pin holes, takes a better polish and lessens chances 
of rebreaking. 



A Stripping Solution — All new solid gold work as 
it comes from the jeweler or from the enameling room, 
presents, after boiling out in the regular "pickle" — sul- 
phuric acid (commercial) and water, or "acid" — a weak 
solution of nitric acid and water, a dull white or slightly 
greenish color. This is caused by the action of the acids 
on the alloys in the gold, the silver forming a chloride on 
the article. This coating is removed by hanging the 
work in a stripping solution as the anode, using a carbon 
plate as the cathode. To make the solution, mix fifteen 
ounces of C. P. cyanide of potassium in one gallon of water 
and add thirty ounces of phosphate of soda which has 
been previously mixed in a little water; place this in a 
tank, heat up well, and after the work has been well 
scratch-brushed with a steel brush, hang it in; run the 
current up to five or six volts, seeing that the connection 
is good; the article should be kept in motion, but not 
allowed to touch sides of the crock or the cathode, as, by 
reason of the strong solution and powerful current, should 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 221 



it do so a "strike" spot would be the result. After a few 
moments' immersion the work will show red and is ready 
for polishing.* 

Goods that have been enameled and subjected to a 
number of "firings" of course have a thicker coating of 
oxide and will take longer to strip. It is not advisable to 
leave goods in the bath longer than necessary to get a 
nice, clear, reddish color, as the solder will be weakened 
and the article itself be attacked. This solution must be 
renewed by adding a little cyanide and phosphate of soda 
from time to time, or when it is noticed as not working 
well. The weights given here for all dry ingredients 
are Troy, and for the liquids the regular graduate is 
employed. 

By the way, in the stripping process the carbon plate 
(cathode) should be placed in a bowl of water after 
using, and the gold, silver and copper deposited thereon 
during the stripping brushed off with an old stiff tampico 
brush. This water should be emptied into a glass funnel 
lined with filtering paper placed in a large pitcher; the 
precious metals will be left on the paper, and as enough is 
collected, remove and dry for refining, replacing with 
fresh paper. 



*This solution is now practically discarded in favor of the new one given in this 
edition in Chapter III, which works quicker in the hands of an experienced 
stripper. 



222 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER LIII. 



PRACTICAL HINTS (Concluded). 
To Make Colored Gold Plating — How to Secure a Matt 
Finish — Cleaning Stock-Worn Goods — A Reliable 
Pearl Cement — Eating Copper Out of Plated Ware — 
How to Polish Platinum — Rose Gold Solution. 

COLORED Gold Plating — In making colored gold 
plating, green, red, yellow, etc., have the colored 
gold a little over one third the thickness of your 
backing, or 250 points dial screw gauge as against 600 
points for the polished back. The two pieces should be 
well fitted, filed, scraped, etc.; borax carefully and use 
highest quality solder ; small pieces may be soldered with 
a regular blowpipe, but the large plates should be placed 
between two iron plates and put in a gas muffler or fur- 
nace, keeping the heat well under control, as at point of 
sweating there is danger of melting gold as well. AH 
plating should be well annealed during rolling, and for 
small flowers, leaves, etc., may be rolled as thin as 60 
points. 



Matt Finish — To get the beautiful matt finish, work 
after leaving the chaser is put in a hot steaming solution 
of water and soda to remove the cement, washed out well, 
and then covered with a paste of yellow ochre rubbed up 
well with water and borax; it is then carefully. annealed 
and boiled out in the pickle (sulphuric acid and water) 
and dried in sawdust. Stock-worn goods may sometimes 
be cleaned by dipping in cyanide of potassium, bicarbon- 
ate of soda, phosphate of soda, etc., but to make like 
new, the work must be rechased or matted and "fired." 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 223 



Pearl Cement — While there are some excellent pearl 
cements on the market, the strongest cement for the large 
baroque pearls, in fact, pearls of any size above a grain, 
is white shellac; this has a coarser grain, is very tenacious, 
and is used by the finest platinum jewelers for fastening 
on the most expensive pearls. It is purchased in lumps 
from leading chemists and should be kept in jars under 
water; when wanted, take a piece and draw into thin 
strips over your alcohol lamp, discarding any that is 
apparently useless. 



Eating Copper out of Plated Wire — Hollow wire 
work drawn over copper is eaten out with a solution 
of nitric acid and water, using, in 14-karat or over, equal 
parts; in lo-karat or less, use three parts water and one 
acid, which must be chemically pure. In the case of 
a special pattern, as in a bracelet, where it is not econom- 
ical to use plating made specially, the gold is drawn over 
the copper wire which has been previously drawn to the 
size, less the difference in the thickness of the gold, and 
is then closely wound with iron wire to keep the seam 
from opening up and buckling in the subsequent shaping 
on the arbor. After shape and size is gotten the wire is 
unwound and the bracelet put in the acid ; add fresh acid 
every three hours, keeping slightly warm. In lo-karat 
work especially, do not leave any longer in acid than 
is absolutely necessary. Some manufacturers use a 
pounder to keep acid constantly stirring. The pounder 
is made by hanging a weight to a crank attached to the 
shafting, letting it strike bench as shaft revolves. 



How to Polish Platinum — Platinum work, after fine 
filing and well rubbing over with fine emery paper, is 
polished on a high speed polishing lathe, using "plat- 
inum bar tripoli" and finishing with ''platinum rouge." 
Platinum may also be polished with the regular bar 
tripoli and bar rouge, but a much richer gloss and 



224 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

finish is obtained by the use of the special poHshing 
ingredients first named. The regular tampico brushes 
and the felt buffs are used. The higher the speed, the 
better are the results. Sometimes in broad surfaces a 
streak will show. This is due to bad melting and mix- 
ing of possibly a portion of silver or iridium with the 
platinum. Go over the part with a highly polished 
bloodstone or steel burnisher and finish with the plat- 
inum bar rouge, using a felt buff. Pure platinum is 
soft, and is apt to "drag" in polishing, and it is there- 
fore necessary to have the article smoothed with the 
finest emery paper before sending to the polishing 
room. All of the finest diamond work is polished in 
this manner, and in the hands of a skillful and experi- 
enced polisher the finish presents a deep, rich, glossy 
luster, closel}^ resembling newly plated nickel work. The 
buffs and brushes used for platinum work must be kept 
separate, and the work well washed in soap water in 
which a few drops of ammonia are put before finishing 
with the rouge. 



Handling of Vermicelli or Etruscan Work — Vermi- 
celli or Etruscan work, i. e., plain surfaces ornamented 
with twist wire half rings, plain wire strips, shots, etc., 
is prepared and trimming charged on as follows: Work 
is tripolied or fine emeried, annealed and boiled out in 
the regular pickle and well rinsed in hot and cold water 
to remove all acid; dry well and paint over lump borax 
well rubbed up with water; do not get too thick so that 
the surface is lumpy; now anneal with blowpipe, keeping 
the various pieces from touching. In applying the 
borax see that the surface is covered evenly. The 
writer uses his finger moistened with the borax, and well 
rubs to get the surface clean from any traces of grease, 
shiny spots, etc. 

The twist wire rings are now prepared, the article is 
painted over with a solution of gum water made by 
dissolving gum "tragic" in water and the rings picked 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 225 

up with a small brush which is kept wet with gum 
water. • When the piece is "charged," let dry, then take 
a brush (a tooth brush will do) and dip in your borax 
slate, hold over work and run your nail over the bristles, 
thus sprinkling work; avoid all excess, just enough to 
dampen. Have a metal solder box containing file 
solder which has a stem running from it, through which 
the solder feeds. This stem is notched, and the finger- 
nail scratching over the corrugated surface causes the 
solder to drop on to the moistened work. Be careful 
to charge the solder evenly. Now sprinkle again and 
solder before it gets too dry. Small pallions of plate 
solder, rolled very thin and cut in tiny squares, are also 
used for certain trimming where it is found to be cleaner 
and more expedient. 

In large factories, where, say, fifty ball hat pins are 
in work, the balls are stuck on steel pins and the points 
in a cake of soap. The balls are annealed in borax, 
then given to girls who do the "charging," back to the 
foreman for sprinkling and charging of the solder and 
soldering. The borax applied to the brush for sprink- 
ling is rubbed up very thin. The chief feature in ver- 
micelli work is to have the article thoroughly clean in the 
beginning and evenly and smoothly annealed in clean 
borax. All hollow work, after the preliminary annealing 
and pickhng, should be thoroughly boiled in water in 
which a little powdered borax may be dropped to kill 
all the acid. Gum water must be pure and not too 
thick. A little thinner than the regular mucilage is 
about right. Bear in mind that the trimming is charged 
right on to the borax annealed work. 



Recovery of Fine Gold — Commercially pure gold, 
approximately 24-karats fine, is recovered from alloyed 
gold by first adding fine silver so that fine gold will be 
one fourth of the weight. In other words, add silver 
so as to make 6-karat gold. If, for instance, you have 
100 pennyweights of 14-karat gold, and knowing that 



226 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



there are 58 1-3 pennyweights of fine gold in this, we 
add 133 1-3 pennyweights of silver; this, with the 41 2-3 
pennyweights already with the gold, makes 175 penny- 
weights of alloy to 58 1-3 pennyweights of gold, so 
that we have three times as much alloy. Melt and 
mix well, then either granulate by pouring into a large 
tub of cold water, which is vigorously stirred by a 
helper, or pour into a plate ingot and roll thin. Place in 
a bowl or evaporating dish on sand bath. Cover well 
with I part nitric acid C. P. to 2 parts water, keeping a 
good heat. As the silver and other alloys are taken up 
in the acid the gold will be precipitated to the bottom in the 
form of a reddish, muddy powder. The American Oil 
and Supply Co., of Newark, N. J., furnishes a regular 
parting acid. Pour off and add fresh acid from time to 
time until all action ceases. Wash well with hot water, 
using several washings, then pour in a solution of i part 
sulphuric acid to 9 parts water. This will bring up gold 
a clean, pure red color. It is now well washed again, 
dried on the sand bath, collected into a new, clean cru- 
cible and melted. To get chemically pure gold involves a 
number of operations and an equipment making it imprac- 
tical for the average jeweler to attempt. The latest 
process is using a hydrochloric acid bath with two large 
bars of commercially pure gold as anode and cathode. 
A current being turned on, the gold is deposited on to the 
cathode chemically pure, all traces of platinum, iridium, 
etc., remaining in the bath, the baser metals, lead, tin, 
iron, antimony, etc., being destroyed in the solution. 
Commercially pure gold, if carefully gotten out, will test 
23 9-10 karats fine, or better. 



Rose Gold Solution — A rose gold solution is made 
by adding copper to the regular gilding bath. This 
copper can be purchased from the larger chemical 
houses in cyanide form, simply getting cyanide of cop- 
per; or carbonate of copper may be gotten from any 
supply house. The cyanide copper powder may be put 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 227 



directly into the bath, but the carbonate is first dis- 
solved in water in which cyanide of potassium has been 
previously dissolved. A good copper cyanide solution 
consists of carbonate copper, }4 lb.; water, i quart 
(boiled and cooled) ; mix together and add small pieces 
of cyanide of potassium occasionally, until all the copper 
is taken up in the solution. Carefully add this to the 
Roman bath until deposit shows pinkish red. Bath 
should be hotter than for gilding. Current from 3 to 5 
volts. Relieve with glass brush. 



228 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER LVIV. 
APPENDIX. 



FIGURING SHOP COSTS. 
Some Supplementary Figures Relating to Cost of Platinum 
Work and the Buying of Diamonds and Pearls — Further 
Explanatory of the Subject as Treated in Chapters 
XXXII and XXXVI. 

SUPPLEMENTING Chapter XXXII, a young 
New York manufacturer of fine platinum jew- 
elry asks how to figure costs on that class of 
goods. He is a very fine jeweler but knows little of 
the clerical end of business. The following example 
covers every operation on a platinum pin : 

Platinum (8 pennyweights) $64, making (10 hours) 
$20, polishing $3, setting (60 stones) $12, joint and 
catch and finishing 50 cents, a total of $99.50, to which 
is added 25 per cent for shop expense, making the cost 
of the mounting $124.88. This may be a little exces- 
sive for shop expense but the percentage is left to in- 
dividual judgment. Now the profit is added, which 
may be anywhere from 25 per cent upwards, with, of 
course, the stones used also figured to sell at a profit. 

On a general line of medium-priced jewelry, either 
lO-karat or 14-karat, where enameling may be included, 
manufacturers are generally putting on 33 1-3 per cent 
for shop expense. 

Example — Bar pin. (Figures given.are merely illus- 
trative, showing how cost is arrived at.) Gold $2, 
stamping 10 cents, making 40 cents, enameling 25 
cents, polishing 15 cents, setting 20 cents, joint and 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 229 



catch and finishing 20 cents, total $3.30, plus 33 1-3 per 
cent, making the cost $4,40. This is not excessive on 
a popular line where a tool room and enameling plant 
are maintained in addition to other departments. 

The Buying of Stones — Referring to prices of dia- 
monds as noted in Chapter XKXVI, it is useless to 
name any fixed costs — "There ain't no such animal." 
The point made was, and is to-day, that diamonds, 
200 stones to the carat, cost more proportionately than 
those averaging 8q to 100 stones per carat. The rea- 
son is the scarcity of these small brilliants. They are 
very costly to cut, and are generally cut from larger 
stones. Also, the stuff must be very "snappy" in 
order to show up. These tiny diamonds are set in 
heads of animal jewelry, special models of birds, dogs, 
etc., also to embellish prongs or settings holding a 
large emerald, star sapphire, or other stone. 

Regarding pearls the same statement applies in re- 
lation to prices. Whole pearls. Oriental baroques, and 
sometimes Japanese cultured pearls, are bought and 
sold at what is termed "base" price. This can be any- 
thing, and it depends on the quality, size, lustre, 
skin, etc. 

Once knowing what the pearl is quoted per grain 
base, the buyer proceeds to get at the actual cost, as 
follows : Suppose he wants- a pearl weighing six grains 
at $1 "base," which means that a one-grain pearl would 
cost $1 ; a six-grain pearl would cost $6 per grain base, 
or $36; a seven-grain pearl would cost $7 per grain 
base, or $49 for the pearl. 

As explained in the previous chapter, multiply the 
quoted base price by the weight of the pearl and this 
product again by the latter, or, in other words, the 
square of the weight in grains multiplied by the price 
per grain base gives the cost of the pearl. This is 
perhaps more readily understood in buying a paper 
of pearls of different weights, at say, $3 base : a one- 
grain would cost $3, a one and a half grain would be 



230 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



$4.50 base and cost $6.75 ; a two-grain at $6, would 
cost $12, and so on. 

The cheaper pearls, fresh-water or domestic, are 
generally sold by the grain only. Figuring a lot of 
different sizes at 50 cents per grain, simply multiply 
the weight of each by the price per grain, as, a two- 
grain at 50 cents, costs $1, a six-grain costs $3, etc. 



PART TWO 

How to MaJ^e Plated Jewelry 



By Alvan H. Whiting. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE LOCATION OF THE BUILDING. 
A Series of Articles on the Processes of Making Plated and 
Electroplated Goods in Quantities — The Basic Combina- 
tion — Selecting the Location — Pick out a Good Build- 
ing — Equip with Up-to-date Machinery if You Mean 
to Succeed. 

IN preparing a treatise on "How to Make Plated 
Jewelry," we will first take up the question of 
"What is plated jewelry?" As generally known, 
it is an imitation of gold jewelry made from a ba=.e 
metal and covered or plated with gold. It can be 
divided into two classes : First, goods in which gold is 
soldered to the base or platers' metal in the ingot, 
rolled into sheets or made into wire ; then made up into 
the component parts, assembled and finished, and as 
the gold is on the outside it is known as plated goods, or 
stock plate. The second class is electroplate. In this 
case the components are made from the base metal, 
assembled and plated or colored by depositing gold on 
them by use of an electric current. 

Then there is what is known to the trade as "gold- 
filled" jewelry, but as this is entirely an arbitrary term 
that may apply equally as well to either of the two 
classes mentioned, we will not consider that in a 



232 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



separate class, but will proceed with the subject of 
how to make jewelry by modern and paying methods. 

Briefly, it is a combination of brains and brass; the 
brass to be covered or hidden with gold. Brass is not 
a natural, but an alloyed metal, consisting of copper 
and zinc, and known to the trade as high or low brass, 
high brass having a high percentage of zinc, and low 
brass a low percentage in zinc and high in copper. The 
manufacturer of plated jewelry needs to know very 
little of these formulas, as it would be impractical for 
a jeweler to make his own metals; that is the brass 
mill's job. The manufacturing jeweler simply buys 
sheet metal or wire of the grade best suited to his 
trade, which is almost always low brass, or sometimes 
what is known as gilder's metal, which is still lower 
in zinc, the reason for which will be taken up later. 

Making the component parts, assembling, finishing 
and selling, are the same factors as in jewelry. The 
use of brains consists of finding methods of doing these 
things cheaply and well with a minimum of hand 
labor; and right here let me say and emphasize, spe- 
cialize and standardize. There may be rare cases where 
manufacturers have made a success and become rich 
by making a general line of plated jewelry without 
specializing, but in forty years of watching it I have 
yet to hear of them. If I were asked to give advice on 
how not to succeed in making jewelry, and name one 
hundred wa3^s to fail, I should say, first, make a little 
of everything; the next seventy-nine rules Would be 
just the same, and the other twenty would be "don't 
standardize." 

The attempt to make all kinds in the same factory is 
now almost never done, except in some town far away 
from a jewelry center, in which case, the owners are 
doomed to failure before they begin. Here is a good 
chance to steal a leaf from the farm papers. In telling 
you how to succeed in raising anything, from peas to 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 233 

pigs, the advice is always, first, pick a suitable location. 
Take the same advice in making jewelry. It is most 
suitable to pick out a location right in a section where 
similar factories are located. 

The man who locates his jewelry factory from ten 
to a thousand miles froiti another jewelry factory may 
succeed, but if he does I hope he will have his portrait 
hung in the "Hall of Fame" ; I would like to look at it. 
Perhaps the reader will ask why. First, the little 
matter of stock. It is rather inconvenient for a factory 
to have on hand all kinds and thicknesses of brass, 
both in sheet and wire. If the factory is in the jew- 
elry section the brass agencies carry that for him, 
saving time, expense and losses on dead stock. 

Then there are a hundred and one other items of sup- 
plies that are as easy to procure in the right section as 
a glass of soda or other thirst quencher in a drug store, 
while the distant and isolated plant finds it a source of 
trouble, mistakes, high prices and annoyance. 

If one overcomes this handicap, the trouble has just 
begun. There is no available skilled help in the branch 
of the trade that he needs just now. But we can al- 
ways get help to emigrate. Granted ; but why does a 
man leave a town full of jewelry factories and go to 
an isolated plant? Answer, more money, though there 
are other reasons as well, but it is not polite to talk 
about them. However, if you wish to try it, it is your 
aft'air, and the second-hand machine dealers will go a 
thousand miles to bid on the ruins, as they have found 
that they can buy the goods very low in such instances. 

After finding your location, hire your factory space. 
Do not be stingy with the landlord. Good, modern, 
up-to-date factories pay the best. Paying for a trifle 
more room than you could rub along with is a better 
policy than crowding into a place too small. See any 
successful manufacturer. 

Then there is the little matter of power. There are 
still factory buildings renting floor space including all 



234 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



the power you care to use or misuse, all covered by the 
same rental. That appeals to some short-sighted ten- 
ants, but have you considered that they are all build- 
ings that MTere erected before the day of modern elec- 
tric motors, and the owners are using and renting that 
kind of power for the same reason some of us are wear- 
ing last year's straw hat. We have it, and have not 
yet got up our courage to give it to the junk man. 
"Eventually" you will be forced to use power that you 
can pay for by meter. "Why not now?" Then you do not 
have to pay for power that you do not use. You can 
increase any time, besides other advantages about 
which any mechanical engineer can tell you. 

In equipping your shop get the most modern 
machinery adapted to the line you mean to make. Be- 
gin where the other fellow left off. Don't try to get 
along with what he has scrapped, and expect to com- 
pete. Be sure you get harmony in this matter, not 
one machine for doing the heaviest kind of work that 
could possibly be classed as jewelry, and the next one 
for the very lightest and most delicate goods. In that 
case you are equipped about as well as the man who 
wore a fur coat, straw) hat, and rubber boots. Was he 
dressed for spring, summer, autumn or winter? Could 
he drive a team, or make a speech at a banquet, or do 
anything else, except run for Congress? 

If you do not know how to equip your factory con- 
sult an expert in this line who has nothing to sell but 
services. 

In buying machinery do not forget what the textile 
manufacturer told his friend, W/hen he asked if he 
couldn't sell the obsolete machinery to some other mill, 
"Alas ! the mills that used to buy our discarded ma- 
chinery have all failed." The jewelers that are using 
obsolete machinery have not all failed yet, but watch 
them. The high price of labor is forcing them to in- 
crease their profits by modernizing their equipment, or 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 235 



throw up their hands and quit, and some of them don't 
want to quit. Bear that in mind. 

Not forgetting- our title is "How to Make," not 
"How Not to Make" jewelry, we will divide the pro- 
cess up into departments, as is the modern way, treat- 
ing each branch as a separate chapter, beginning with 
tool making, not overlooking the fact that many tools 
can be purchased from job shop toolmakers to a good 
advantage. Still, it is to the advantage of both the 
manufacturing jeweler and the job shop man for the 
manufacturer to have a tool-making department in his 
own factory. 



236 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER II. 



TOOL MAKING FOR PLATED JEWELRY. 
The Engine Lathe as the First Requisite — The Use of the 
Milling Machine — Standardizing Tools — The Proper 
Files — How to Handle the Die Question Economically. 

MAKING tools for jewelry consists of taking a 
piece of steel and cutting off all you don't 
want, This is very similar to the w^ork of a 
machinist. In fact the best definition of a toolmaker 
I have ever heard is "advanced machinist" Conse- 
quently, if you are going to employ and pay for an ad- 
vanced machinist, it is policy to provide him with ad- 
vanced machinery to work with. To cut steel by obso- 
lete methods is slow and expensive. The first machine 
to be considered in a tool room is the engine lathe. 
What the plow is to the farmer, or the cook stove to 
the cook, so is the lathe to the jewelry factory, or any 
metal-working industry. 

Now the lathe to be an economical working ma- 
chine must be up-to-date. In choosing the lathe per- 
haps it is not necessary to take the highest priced, but 
do not be governed by price alone. It is essential to 
have a lathe with a quick change feed, so that a rough- 
ing cut can be taken with a coarse feed, as feed beats 
speed in production ; then change quickly to a finish- 
ing, feed. The machine tool builders designate lathes 
as manufacturing lathes and tool room lathes. A tool 
room lathe, besides the quick-changing feed, has a 
draw-in attachment for collets, a taper attachment, or 
at least built to take one later, and of course a com- 
pound rest, and must be of a size consistent with the 
class of work you intend to do. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 237 



The next machine is either a planer, shaper or mill- 
ing machine. Each has advantages peculiar to itself, 
and in a full-sized and complete tool room, I should 
recommend all three. But I am assuming that this is 
a small shop, just starting; then I should say, a mill- 
ing machine, as having the greatest scope of the three ; 
also doing the work more economically on most of the 
jobs. 

It is not alvways necessary to have a "full Universal" 
miller. In fact, a plain, or better still, a duplex miller, 
will handle almost anything to be made in a shop of 
this kind, but be sure the feed can be shifted quickly. 
Have it fitted with draw-in collets, perfectly inter- 
changeable with the engine lathe. You must also have 
an accurate swivel vise graduated in degree, and some 
form of dividing head ; and in addition to regular arbor 
a fly arbor, and a good supply of milling cutters. 
Unless you are located near a jobbing machine shop 
that will grind these cutters, you must have some kind 
of a cutter grinder, as milling cutters must be kept 
sharp. And get your mill of a size that will match up 
well with your lathe. 

Then if you have a drill press such as is known as 
a sensitive drill, a power hack saw, a cutter miller, a 
small tWo-wheel emery stand, and some form of a sur- 
face grinder (a hand feed machine will do,) you can 
get along and produce good tools at a reasonable cost, 
although what is called a precision bench lathe is a 
utility rather than a luxury, and in some classes of 
work an absolute necessity. As soon as you employ 
more than one toolmaker, for your own interest add 
that to your equipment at once. 

Now before starting to make tools consider what 
was said in a previous chapter about standards, and 
standardize your tools from the beginning. First pro- 
vide the tool room with an accurate surface plate, 
about a nine-inch plate will do, then a good hand press, 
and have it tested to be sure that slide is dead true 



238 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



with bed. Have it fitted with plunger holder having 
a hardened steel bushing for receiving shank, and an 
accurate and rigid die dish or cutter holder with cor- 
rect angles. Five degrees is the best — a circular 
holder turned from mild steel being the most satis- 
factory. A correctly tapered wedge is the best method 
of holding the cutter plate. 

Now any press tools made to fit these cutter and 
plunger holders, and tested up with the surface plate 
and square, are correct and standard, and any troub^e 
in the press department can then be laid to other 
causes. I am tempted to enlarge upon this subject; I 
could preach a sermon on standardizing cutters and 
plungers, making the shank true and correct size, 
having the beveled sides of plates the correct angle, 
and flat on the bottom so that they will lay on the 
surface plate without rocking. I could write a book 
on the manufacturing troubles I have found, caused 
by ignoring this simple matter and the endless troubles 
I have corrected by going right back to this source; 
but I will try not to Aveary the reader. 

If you are just starting don't allow these evils to 
creep in; if you are already established, and have 
trouble assembling your parts, or doing bench work, 
incurring an unreasonable expense caused by confu- 
sion and broken tools, difficulty in getting and keep- 
ing satisfactory help, and a general sluggish produc- 
tion, here is where the trouble can generally be found, 
if the right man looks for it. 

Probably the greater part of the toolmaking in a 
small factory making plated jewelry is cutter making, 
although if you mean to compete and lead, you will 
be obliged to employ an all-round toolmaker, a man 
with ideas how to do things. A man that lacks en- 
thusiasm and is not interested in the job never excels 
as a toolmaker. 

Still, a cutter maker specialist can beat the all-round 
man making cutters, and to give him a fair chance to 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. , 239 



make good, first get the right steel. Almost any of 
the American tool steel makers can furnish you with 
that if you know the requirements. The price has 
very little to do with picking out the right steel. You 
must take into consideration that you are to punch 
brass and not steel; consequently you do not need as 
tough a steel for steel manufacturing, or as lasting 
qualities as novelty makers, where a hundred thousand 
or a million pieces at one run of press is common. In 
jewelry work the great majority of cutters are never 
required to cut more than ten thousand pieces ; con- 
sequently you can use a steel that is annealed very 
much softer than on the other lines mentioned. And 
there you are. The softer the steel the greater the 
speed of the cutter maker, and the greater the speed 
the less the cost. 

Having in mind keeping down the cost, now is the 
time to mention files. One of the shrewdest manu- 
facturers I have ever known used to say, "There is 
no money in dull files." Almost any manufacturer can 
make money for himself by taking dull, worn-out files 
away from his help and giving them to the junk man, 
so no one can waste time trying to use them. The man 
I referred to used to throw them in the pond. In select- 
ing these files consider size, cut and shape. The best 
practice is to let the toolmaker select them himself. It 
is poor policy to force a man to use tools that are not 
in accordance with his ideas, and a man that never 
uses a file is no more fitted to buy them than a brick- 
layer is to select brushes for an artist. 

Outside of cutter making I will not go into details 
except to say, get an ingenious man and keep him. 
What the jewelers call dies, more properly speaking, 
embossing dies, it is not good practice to attempt to 
make in a small factory. First, because where there 
is only one man as both designer and die cutter, he is 
apt to repeat himself, and also work to more or less 
disadvantage. Die making has become a business by 



240 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



itself. If one firm of diemakers does not suit you, try 
another. You will then have the advantage of many 
artistic ideas. You can stop the expense at any time. 
The objection is sometimes raised that there is noth- 
ing exclusive about a die procured from a die shop. 
That is an erroneous idea. Think of what would be- 
come of a die company that made duplicates of their 
customer's dies to sell to competitors. It is not done. 
There are many good die making concerns that will 
furnish you with ideas and dies, and otherwise look 
out for your interest at a less cost than if you tried 
it in your own factory. Trust them for that, as they 
have every reason to keep you as a permanent 
customer. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 241 



CHAPTER III. 



THE STAMPING AND PRESS WORK. 
The Stock Used — Taking Care of the Rolls — Gauges and 
Micrometers — The Kinds of Presses to be Used — Auto- 
matic Power Presses Favored — The Round Tapered 
Die — The Single and Double Acting Presses — Accidents 
Easily Avoided. 

WE will assume that in this shop the plated stock 
will be bought of plate manufacturers, as that 
has become a specialized business in itself. 
Stock plate is designated by both the quality and thick- 
ness of the gold; for instance, one-twentieth, twelve, 
means the weight of the alloyed gold is one-twentieth 
of the total weight, and the 12 indicates the karat, or 
12-24 fiiie gold, the alloy to be of the right metal to give 
the desired color. It is by all means the better prac- 
tice to buy stock of the plate manufacturers, as they 
make it in all grades, both in fiat stock and wire. One- 
twentieth plate is considered very good quality. In 
fact rolled plate goods are made in plate as thin as 
i-ioo and as low karat as 8. 

In buying stock it is better to buy the thickness that 
you intend to use, not trying to do the rolling in your 
own shop as a regular thing. Unless a man is in prac- 
tice it is difficult to roll stock straight and even, and 
always maintain the good finish which is highly essen- 
tial. You must not be obliged to polish off an exces- 
sive amount to get a finish. In equipping your factory, 
however, it is well to have one small rolling mill 
about 3x5, as an emergency tool, as it often happens 
that some order calls for a thickness of stock not on 
hand, but you may have on hand some left-over of a 



242 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



greater thickness, which, by rolHng down, you can 
use with less waste. 

These rolls must be kept clean and smooth and 
free from all grit or anything that will scratch either 
the rolls or stock. Put nothing but clean stock through 
them. Remember this through all processes; keep 
stock clean and avoid all grit or scratchy substances. 
It is more economical to avoid scratches and scars than 
to cover them up later, and a good finish is a long 
point in selling the goods. 

In rolling stock always keep the same edge of stock 
next to the same edge of rolls. In turning it over, 
turn endways, never sideways. If you use the right 
system of gauging or measuring stock you can tell just 
how' much a piece of stock will lengthen out by roll- 
ing a given thickness. 

We will now touch on how to gauge the thickness 
of stock or the size of "wire. Some shops use what is 
known as the dial gauge, which is a fairly good sys- 
tem, except that dial gauges have no definite standard. 
Then there is what is sometimes called a stock gauge, 
and too many manufacturers still use the American 
standard wire gauge. I consider all of these gauges 
a mistake; the only excuse I have heard for them is 
that "we have always got along with them." But 
really their numbers do not mean anything. How does 
No. 20 compare with No. 30? It is not as 20 is to 30, 
because the gauge is not made that way ; 30 is thinner 
than 20. 

Now the only really satisfactory way to gauge or 
measure stock or wire is by micrometer, for the fol- 
lowing reasons : It is standard in all kinds of manu- 
facturing in the United States and Great Britain. The 
micrometer divides an inch (English measurement) 
into one thousand parts. There is no question about 
the standard of the inch, that is 1-36 of the standard 
yard, legalized by the United States Government, and 
it is the same standard authorized by Great Britain. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 243 



Now if you use this system (which all up-to-date 
manufacturers do use) and you have two pieces of 
stock of equal lengths and widths, one .020 thick and 
the other .030 thick, the .020 is two-thirds as thick as 
the .030 and will weigh two-thirds as much, and if 
you wish to use stock half that thickness, .015 is one- 
half of .030. It is as easy a system to figure as count- 
ing your money. You can buy stock, wire, steel ar- 
bors, drills, saws, milling cutters and almost anything 
else by it. Don't allow: any other kind of a gauge in 
your shop. Two or three different gauges in a shop 
cause as much trouble and confusion as if you kept 
your books part in U. S. dollars and cents and part 
in German marks, and a few accounts in English shil- 
lings. It surely is "some mess." Simple and practical 
standards mean production and production means 
profit. 

For stamping or drop press work there are two 
kinds of stamps in general use, the foot stamp with 
a power countershaft overhead to help lift the ham- 
mer, and the more modern "full automatic." There is 
very little to be said in favor of the foot stamp. Prob- 
ably the only job it can be used for to better advantage 
than the automatic is in getting up forces. Each em- 
bossing die requires a "force" or male die. These 
should be made in your own shop and it is customary 
in most, of the shops to have the stamper get up his 
own forces, but as this is a job that is more like tool- 
making, inasmuch as they are generally made of steel, 
I would advise that they be made by the toolmaker, 
and the dies and forces delivered complete to the stamp 
and press man. As these two departments. Stamp and 
Press, depend so much upon each other it is the best 
practice to have them both under one competent man. 

In making forces a coarse-grained low carbon steel 
is better than the more expensive grades, as it is re- 
quired to stand hammering, and the fine-grained high 
carbon steel is too brittle. 



244 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 

If you decide to buy both a foot and an automatic 
stamp, about a hundred-pound hammer is right for 
either, but in the event of having only one, get the 
automatic every time. Some will tell you differently, 
but to simmer down all the objections to the auto- 
matic, it amounts to prejudice against up-to-date 
methods. In buying or choosing these stamps have 
the face of the hammers dove-tailed to receive the 
"jack die" or force holder. Have them both alike, as 
the holders will be interchangeable. These dove- 
tailed hammers are not quite so common as the round 
tapered shanks, but much more practical. The old- 
style round shank jack had an advantage with the 
old-style square forged die, but we are not recommend- 
ing the use of any of that kind of dies. The only ex- 
cuse I can find for their use is that the diemakers claim 
that they are more convenient for them to hold while 
cutting. 

What we are recommending is the round tapered 
die, and do not have these dies too thick. Any die of 
a two-inch diameter or less should never be over one 
and one-quarter inch high. Have them all a standard 
size and taper. If you need three sizes of dies for 
your work make them one and one half inch, two inch 
and three inch round stock with correctly placed dowel 
pinholes to fit the holder. There is a patented circular 
holder with a screw cap for holding down the ^ie, that 
has been on the market for many years. It is used by 
all up-to-date manufacturers of small plated jewelry. 
You can't beat it. 

With this outfit your dies will be easy to set, inter- 
changeable from one stamp to another, and give you 
no trouble. This is another point for the standards ; 
never forget that. When you are persuaded to allow 
one die of a style or size not your standard, you are 
planting weeds in your garden to be uprooted at your 
expense at some future time. The man having charge 
of this work should inspect every new die before us- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 245 

ing, and reject all that are not according to standard. 
A world-famous manufacturer said "the time to 
tighten a loose bolt is just as soon as it needs tighten- 
ing." This is true with all manufacturing troubles. 
The cheapest time to fix them is just as soon as they 
are encountered, and the sooner discovered the less the 
expense. Have no misfits or makeshifts in the way of 
rapid production. 

Now for our press work. There is no job on a hand 
or foot press that cannot be done quicker, cheaper 
and better on a power press. As far as hand presses 
are concerned, they are fairly useful for flattening 
small pieces if you are working in small quantities, 
and let me say right here that a press used for flatten- 
ing is almost never in good enough condition for any- 
thing else. 

In a small model shop I should recommend for the 
press department two hand presses, one fitted with a 
good pair of flattening dies and kept exclusively for 
that purpose, and the other as a convenient tool for the 
man in charge to test tools from the tool room, try 
them out for a few pieces or do an occasional emer- 
gency job. Do not consider it as a paying producer. 
The foot press has one other advantage. It is low in 
price, and for many light jobs of bending and forming 
can be operated as fast as a power press. In many shops, 
particularly in button making, it is customary to have a 
foot press fitted up with some tool for a light special op- 
eration, and not take that tool out as long as that particu- 
lar article runs. The price of the press can be saved in 
the time taken in shifting tools in press a few times each 
day, besides always being ready. Don't be afraid to buy 
foot presses. 

But the bulk of your work must be done with power 
presses. Do not be deluded into putting a large amount 
of money into a complicated double action press. That, 
you will be told, has scope enough to do any and all kinds 
of work, but this is an impractical idea. The double ac- 



246 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



tion press is all right in its place, doing double action 
work, that is, cutting and drawing, but for the all-round 
utility outfit of presses for this shop, you need about three 
single action presses, one very small press for light, quick 
work, one a little larger, say a hundred-pound balance 
wheel press, and about a three-hundred-pound balance 
wheel press. In selecting these pay particular attention 
to the convenience of operating; presses of the overhang 
type are preferable to the arch press, as they are more 
convenient and stiff enough for jewelry work. It is also 
advisable to get at least one if not both of the two larger 
sizes, with height enough in throat to take in sub or pillar 
press tools, as most of the damage done to press tools 
comes from setting up. The sub press system does away 
with all of that. Any unskilled worker can set a sub 
press tool in the press, and I certainly advise having all 
complicated tools made on this system. 

There is a. sort of old-fashioned idea that tools cost 
more to make for a powder press than for a hand press. 
That is not true. Any tool that is made for a hand press 
can be put right in the power press without alteration if 
the standards that I recommend are lived up to. Then 
the wear and damage to tools are less on the power than 
on hand or foot press. The labor and skill required are 
no different. 

Then there is the fear of accident to the operator. This 
is negligible if a few simple commonsense rules are ob- 
served and strictly lived up to. First, never try to set 
tool or adjust with balance wheel of press running. If 
press is not provided with countershaft, but belted direct 
to wheel, throw off the belt before setting. Then after 
the tool is set turn the wheel over once by hand to see if 
all is right before applying power. Never, if it can be 
avoided, put your fingers between the die and punch. It 
is sometimes said this rule cannot be followed on hand 
feed work. My answer to this is that the best all-round 
pressman I ever saw, both for speed and efficiency, al- 
ways followed this rule. He had an assortment of 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 247 

tweezers for one hand and different sizes and shapes of 
sticks that he called his "chop sticks" in the other hand, 
and I never saw the man or boy in competition with him 
that he couldn't beat in feeding a press and never get his 
fingers where there was a possibility of getting hurt. 

Here is a chance to borrow a leaf from his book. He 
personally inspected every new cutter or tool given him 
to use, and if not according to standard Mr. Toolmaker 
heard from it before it was used once. The same with 
every piece of stock. He took nobody's word for it. It 
was measured by micrometer by himself, and if not ac- 
cording to specifications he put it up to the foreman be- 
fore a particle of it was used. Then if any o£f-size tools 
or poor stock was used it was by positive orders from 
higher authority and no come-back. It was the old rule 
"first be sure you are right then go ahead," and go fast. 
Explain this system to the man in charge of your stamp 
and press work and if he lives up to it you will find it the 
greatest labor saver you ever struck. 

With a stamp and press outfit such as I have described, 
of course, including a wrench for each press and to fit 
that press, suitable oil cans, a good one-inch micrometer, 
and a book or card system to enter orders in, a pressman 
should give you component parts of jewelry rapidly and 
good. I will just mention the fact that it is better to give 
all orders for this, as well as other work to be done, in 
writing, to avoid mistakes and misunderstandings, but be 
careful not to make this written order system too cum- 
bersome. Make it plain and direct and have it signed, so 
that the man giving orders is responsible for his mistakes. 

In the following chapters I shall take up pattern mak- 
ing, assembling or bench work. 



248 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE BENCH LATHE. 
The Milling, Drilling, and Grinding Department — The 
Use of the Bench Lathe and Its Equipment — The Drill 
Press — The Emery Wheels and Their Uses. 

AFTER the component parts of jewelry have been 
stamped on the drop hammers, cut out and 
formed, swlaged on presses, there is quite fre- 
quently other things to do to it before assembling 
or soldering the parts together. The old-fashioned 
way of doing this was to leave it to the individual 
idea of the bench hand or jeweler, as he was 
then called, who made use of the simplest form 
of a bench lathe, which he used for drilling, what he 
called "burring," which, strictly speaking, is milling, by 
the use of a revolving cutter. Aiid quite frequently 
he attached an emery wheel to the same lathe and 
used to grind off certain portions, as that proved to be 
a faster process than hand filing. 

Now these methods are obsolete ; they do not admit 
of standardizing either the labor or the results. It 
requires more or less skill and ingenuity from each 
operator, and is in no way conducive to quantity pro- 
duction, and we are still remembering that the profits 
are in standardizing and specializing. 

So we will add another department, which has been 
put in practice by progressive manufacturers. This 
we will call Milling, Drilling and Grinding depart- 
ment. The same should be in charge of a competent 
man, one having some knowledge of machinery, plenty 
of ingenuity, and a good knowledge of how to cut gold, 
silver, brass and any of the basic metals used in mak- 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. .249 



ing jewelry. And bear in mind that these different 
metals do not all require the same speeds, feeds, shape 
of milling cutter teeth, or the same grade of emery- 
wheels. But as a general principle they all require a 
faster speed than steel or iron. 

In equipping this department it is well to have one 
bench lathe, with a full equipment, of tools and fixtures 
for same, including_^ good hand feed slide rest, an 
arbor to hold burrs, saws, etc., and be sure this is a 
standard size. It is better to attach this to lathe 
spindle by the draw-in collet system (as it is on all 
lathe and milling jobs). Then a good accurate run- 
ning drill chuck small enough so that it could not be 
used for work too heavy for the lathe. Now this ma- 
chine is to be used as an emergency or experimental 
tool by the man in charge, as the lathe is a machine 
having the greatest scope of any metal working 
machine. Do not consider it as an economical producer 
of goods in quantity. 

The proper type of lathe to buy for this purpose is 
of a well-known pattern with slide rests built as a part 
of the regular equipment, and not as a makeshift 
afterthought. These lathes are not high in price, are 
of a standard size, and can be duplicated at any time. 

Now for general rapid quantity production on such 
operations as sawing or burring, use special millers, 
one for each job; do not be afraid to have too many 
of them. They are simple little inexpensive machines 
to be placed on a bench. They cost much less than 
a lathe, are quickly operated and are laborsavers if 
used intelligently. The same rule holds good on this 
as that spoken of on foot press work — have a machine 
for each set of tools ; fit the tools to that machine and 
leave them there as long as that particular line runs. 

Now I realize that this system is not in general use, 
still it is, in a few very much up-to-date factories, 
and I notice they all happen to be money-making 
plants. The first time this system was called to my 



250 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



attention was more than thirty years ago when tHe 
manufacturer had to design and build these little ma- 
chines himself, and even did the labor with his own 
hands. He retired with an independent fortune years 
ago, after proving that there was money in specializ- 
ing and standardizing. 

If you are in doubt or puzzled about how to install 
this system consult an experienced production en- 
gineer, who specializes on this line. He can always 
be found if you read the advertisements, and a man 
that does not read the advertisements pertaining to 
his business will not succeed anyway. 

With these little machines you must have a good 
assortment of saws and milling cutters and keep them 
sharp. Dull tools will give as poor results as the man 
gets that shaves with a dull razor. Keep all your tools 
in a state of "high efficiency" and your help will keep 
so. When your tools are not doing good, fast work 
your help soon gets in the same condition. 

Then you must have one or more drill presses, and 
while you are about it, get good ones. A good one 
for the purpose means a light, but accurate fast run- 
ning machine. To use a small drill, as you have to 
on anything pertaining to jewelry, you must have high 
speed, and it must be quickly operated and run true, 
unless you want to favor the drill manufacturer by 
breaking a lot of drills so you can buy more. These 
drill presses wiill probably be used more or less in 
stone setting and in drilling shell and pearl, consequently 
they should be located where the light is the best. 

Then there must be some emery wheel stands. I 
would advise two of these machines carrying ten- 
inch "wheels. Tihey are not high in price, and if you 
are making plated work, either the stock or brass 
electroplate, you will have occasion to grind on emery 
surfaces from both the stock that has gold on it and 
the stock that is to be plated later. All the dust and 
grindings from the first must be saved for refining to 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 251 



recover the gold. It is a waste of money to pay for 
refining the pieces on which there is no gold, so don't 
mix the two. 

The speed to run these machines is a very easy 
matter to determine. Have the spindle speed fast 
enough to give the periphery or outside surface of the 
emery wheel a travel of 5000 feet per minute. Less 
speed than that will not give goods results ; over 6000 
is dangerous. Do not confuse this 5000 feet with 
spindle speed. A ten-inch wheel to have a periphery 
speed of 5000 feet should revolve 1908 times per 
minute. In buying emery wheels, note that they are 
graded in two ways : the grit and the bond. The 
grit numbers refer to the size of the particles of emery, 
and the bond is the material that binds or sticks them 
together. It quite often happens that a wheel will be 
pronounced too coarse, and a finer one bought, only 
to find that it works no better, and perhaps glazes over 
sooner. Now the trouble in this case was not with 
the coarseness of the grit, but with the bond. This is 
why one man should have the care of these wheels ; 
also a chance to talk with the emery wheel salesman. 
He will soon learn just what wheel will give the best 
and quickest results, and it is results fast and good 
that we are after. 

There is an old but true motto that it is good to 
live up to in manufacturing, "First be sure you are 
right, then go ahead." And don't forget to go fast. 
Always remember that this rule is meant for the 
manufacturer as well as for the help. It is unreason- 
able to expect the employees to live up to it if the em- 
ployer persists in providing tools and materials that are 
not right, and here is where the stagnation begins in 
most jewelry factories. 



252 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 



CHAPTER V. 



PATTERN-MAKING AND BENCH WORK. 
How One can Secure Ideas from the Female Help — Instruc- 
tions about Soldering and Brazing — Foremen should 
have been Workmen — The Job Gang System. 

I DISTINGUISH pattern making in a plated jew- 
elry shop from designing because there is very 
little call for strictly original designs in plated 
work for the pattern maker to furnish. The artistic 
designs that he will have occasion to use will be on the 
pieces that come from die-cutting companies pre- 
viously mentioned. What the pattern maker will really 
be required to do is to make up different combinations of 
these component parts in an attractive manner, not for- 
getting that these combinations must be put together with 
the minimum of labor and maximum show. In fact, I 
know of no better definition of a plated pattern maker 
than "an advanced jeweler." He or she must be a neat 
worker, tasty and practical, able to reproduce his own 
patterns cheaply in quantity production, and in addition 
to parts from the stamp and press departments make use 
of the ideas and supplies furnished by what is known as 
jewelers' findings companies. 

Adaptability to conditions as they are, and keeping up 
to the freaks of fashion, rather than what would be con- 
sidered high art, is the pattern maker's trump card. The 
aim of the very high-class makers of gold jewelry is ex- 
clusive designs that cannot be imitated in the low-priced 
goods. The pattern maker must aim to get that same ef- 
fect at a small fraction of the cost, just as the department 
store milliners produce very attractive imitations of the 
highest priced Paris creations. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY. 253 



I will now consider the "shop girl" as a pattern maker. 
This is rather an unsual practice in jewelry factories; 
still it is done. Many old-style jewelers consider the girls 
as helpers, not as workmen, but this is an erroneous idea. 
There is nothing about bench work in the jewelry factory 
that a girl cannot learn to do, providing she has any nat- 
ural mechanical ability, — enough of it so she could learn 
to trim hats, run a sewing machine, or successfully work 
at any of the trades that are considered women's trades. 
After learning to do the various things required of the 
jeweler at the bench it is only a step more to make the 
pattern, and a girl's taste points more readily to good sel- 
lers than a man's. Many times I have seen a girl put 
some simple combinations of parts together for her own 
wear that beat any of the patterns that the company had 
paid good money for and were trying to sell. I have also 
seen men pattern makers who really got all their ideas 
from the low-paid girl helper. There are a few shops 
that employ girl pattern makers. Take a tip and give the 
girls a chance, and prepare to be surprised at results. 

There are a few fundamental facts concerning bench 
work that should be understood by both the workman 
and the boss. First, consider the tools. In the matter of 
tweezers, pliers, cutting pliers and shears, the best are 
none too good. The clumsy German-made tools, of the 
kind that the market was flooded with a few years ago, 
and which never were an economical proposition, were fat 
to be sold only to a shop which employed a buyer who had 
never been a workman. One of the reasons that the 
little shops just starting can and do compete with the 
big ones is owing to the tendency of the old rich com- 
panies to employ ofifice men and clerks as buyers and 
foremen. This practice is of great benefit to the small 
competitors as well as to the dealers in supplies and 
tools. 

There is some filing to do on this kind of work. The 
right file to use is a sharp one, with the right cut to 
clear well in soft metal ; try different kinds until you 



254 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 



get one that has these qualities, then remember in 
fiUng to do it fast. Take a stroke the full length of 
the file, quick and straight, and you will find it has 
left a smooth surface. There is a knack about this 
that only comes with practice, but it is not hard to 
learn. 

Perhaps the most important part of bench work is sol- 
dering, or, scientifically, brazing. To solder or braze is 
to join two or more pieces of metal together with a metal 
that will fuse or melt at a lower heat than the parts to be 
joined. To do this successfully first see that parts are 
clean. Remove all oil or grease by washing in an alkali 
solution, such as potash or sal soda dissolved in water 
and used hot ; then remove scale, tarnish or other stains 
with hot pickle. The pickle in common use is composed 
of three parts water and one part sulphuric acid, or what 
is commonly called oil of vitriol, and remember before 
being diluted this acid must be handled with extreme care. 
One drop of clear vitriol will destroy an eye or burn a 
hole in the flesh almost instantaneously that will leave a 
lasting scar. After you put work in pickle rinse in clear 
water and dry. 

The right kind of solder to use depends entirely on the 
job to be handled, but on most plated work the best re- 
sults are obtained with silver solder. This can be had in 
all proportions of silver, but anything less than 50 per 
cent silver does not deserve to be called silver solder. My 
belief is that very little if anything is to be gained by us- 
mg too low a grade of solder. You want a solder that 
will flow quickly and smoothly. The solder manufactur- 
ers will sell you this suitable for any peculiar condition 
that you meet. If you need definite instructions in this 
matter time and expense are to be saved by consulting a 
specialist on rapid production. 

Before applying the solder, or charging, as it is called, 
you must use a flux, which is commonly -some compound 
of borax. The reason for a flux is that solder will not 
fuse to a tarnished or oxidized surface, and by having 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 255 



these surfaces covered with borax, when the heat is ap- 
plied, the borax instantaneously melts and protects the 
surface until the solder melts, and then rises or floats on 
top of the molten solder. This is the reason the solder 
will flow, as the jeweler says, where the borax is. 

In doing a good neat job of soldering remember to heat 
quickly. Of course, you will use a power blowpipe. Be 
sure to have a good flow of gas and a strong blast of air, 
then regulate your flame to heat quickly but in the right 
spot. Do not be afraid of too quick a blaze; the borax 
follows the heat, the solder follows the borax, and fast 
work of this kind is good work. 

The best way from all points of view to handle this 
work is to have it under the direct supervision of a com- 
petent foreman, and T have no reason to believe that a 
foreman ever was competent unless he had been a work- 
man. There is a system quite common among some of the 
larger manufacturers of .having this kind of work done 
by setting a price on it as piece or job work, giving it to a 
man that is called a gang boss. He in turn has the other 
workers in his gang charged to him. This is an excellent 
plan for the gang boss. I have known very indifferent if 
not inferior workmen to make (not earn) large sums of 
money this way, and the manufacturer fondly believed he 
was getting profitable results. But from a disinterested 
point of view, based upon actual experience, this system 
dissolves itself into an admission of incompetence in the 
foreman and is so considered by the workman. It simply 
means that the gang boss adopts workmanlike methods of 
doing things that he makes a point of not using when he 
is on day or hour work, and the man in charge thinks he 
is speeding up, when in reality it is because the man in 
authority is not workman enough to see through the cam- 
ouflage. 

There was an incident which came under my observa- 
tion of a gang boss taking a job at a price quite a bit un- 
der what the elaborate cost system showed to be the cost, 
and the first move he made was to get into the shop one 



256 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 



morning as soon as the doors were open, bringing with 
him a few piper's tools and fittings, and make a slight 
change in the gas piping, thereby giving his gang a good 
instead of poor supply of gas to solder with, resulting in 
increasing his income more than 200 per cent and win- 
ning a name for himself with his employer as being a 
wonderful workman. If this company had employed a 
competent mechanical superintendent could he have got- 
ten away with it ? 

This is only one of the many tricks I have seen played 
by the "job gang" boss. This article was not started as a 
joke book, but I would advise the reader not to encourage 
such expensive jokes. Better call in a consulting engineer 
once in a while to help you find the joker. It will pay. 

If your shop is fitted with efficient tools, and the work- 
men provided with labor-saving devices, proper con- 
veniences and material, and encouraged to use them, 
there will be very little for the job boss. When a man 
makes two or three times as much by the job as his rate 
calls for by the hour there is always a joker there. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 257 



CHAPTER VI. 



USE OF AUTOMATIC MACHINERY. 
Machines for Making and Uniting Chain Links and Solder- 
ing the Same — Did the "German Machine" Originate 
in Providence? — The Machine a Humanized Power 
Press, Fitted With Ingenious Cams and Springs. 

THE use of automatic machinery depends upon 
circumstances. If you decide to make an article 
for which there is a demand, produce in quan- 
tities, — and here is where the use of automatic 
machinery comes in. Automatic machines are designed 
and contructed to perform two or more operations in 
shaping or forming a part, with ony one handling by 
the operator. They sometimes seem very complicated 
and puzzling to one unaccustomed to them, but by 
watching what they are really doing you will observe 
that they are almost following the motions made by 
the human hands in producing the same results by 
hand labor. 

Probably the automatic that is best known and widest 
used at present is the chain machine. If you contemplate 
making chain do it by chain machines. There are two 
types of chain machines in general use : what is known as 
the American, and what is usually called the German ma- 
chine, or Ham & Durr type, which seems to have the call 
among manufacturers. 

Perhaps it would not be out of place to give a brief 
history of these machines, as we do not care to give Ger- 
many too much credit for something she is not entitled 
to. These machines were imported or brought into this 
country from Germany a few years ago, about 191 1 or 
1912, under the representation that they were a German 
invention. The writer was at that time employed by one 
of the first concerns to import and operate these ma- 



258 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 

chines, being detailed to inspect and operate these Ger- 
man sample machines ; consequently he was in a position 
to find out a lot about them. 

I certainly have every reason to think that it was in- 
vented in Providence, Rhode Island, about 1893. After 
the inventor failed to get local manufacturers interested, 
on the ground that they already had machines, he took 
his model across to Germany, and sold it to the same 
company which sent them over here about fifteen years 
later. I think the original inventor can still be found in 
Providence. 

There was, and I think is now, a belief that amounted 
almost to a superstition that it required a German to suc- 
cessfully operate these machines. Far be that from right. 
It really makes no difference whether the operator is 
German or African ; neither does it require a good all- 
round toolmaker. Almost anybody with a fair amount 
of mechanical intelligence can learn the whole thing in a 
few weeks. I should be very much surprised if a girl 
that could successfully operate a power sewing machine 
in a factory could not learn to be a chain machine op- 
erator in three months. 

Now for the machine itself. It is built on the general 
lines of a power press. The different members that per- 
form the various duties, such as feeding the wire along to 
the proper length to form a link, passing this wire 
through the link previously formed, cutting it off and 
forming it into the shape of a link in a chain, are located 
on the bed of the machine, and the movements con- 
trolled by a series of cams and return movements by 
springs. These cams are all placed on one horizontal 
shaft that receives the power, and the trick comes in so 
timing the cams or placing them in proper positions on 
this shaft that they will operate the parts at the proper 
time. 

It can readily be seen that it would be useless to try to 
form a link before the wire was cut off, and equally im- 
possible to attempt to close this link before shaping it intc 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 259 



a U shape. Consequently the cams must be set, or 
"timed" as it is called, in the order that the operations 
call for, the last being to place the link just made in posi- 
tion to receive the next link. Simple, isn't it ? but here is 
where the work of the operator or adjuster comes in. 
These machines can be adjusted or set up to make sev- 
eral sizes or shapes of chain, but to compete with the 
market it is best to have as many machines as you make 
sizes or kinds of chain. For the same reason given in a 
previous chapter concerning power press work for quan- 
tity production, it does not pay to waste time changing or 
setting up tools when these machines should be produc- 
ing goods to sell. 

It would not pay a small manufacturer to try to de- 
velop and build these machines, but by looking over the 
advertisements in The M annfacturing Jezueler you can 
usually find where to procure them, also where to get 
engineering advice as to what machine to install and how 
to operate them. Taken up in this manner it is not an 
unknown quantity ; you can go ahead and get equipped 
and in operation for a predetermined investment. 

Next to machines for making chain come machines 
for soldering the links. These are again imitation of 
hand work ; the wire for links must be what is known as 
solder filled, and after chain is made must be thoroughly 
cleaned and "fluxed," usually with a borax solution, and 
this borax removed from surface of links without dis- 
turbing what is in the unsoldered joints. This surface is 
then coated over with a substance that will assist rather 
than prevent oxidation, and passed at the right speed un- 
der a gas flame. These machines are provided with 
means of regulating both the flow of gas and air, as well 
as the speed that chain is fed under the flame. 

As before stated, you can easily obtain detailed instruc- 
tions about machine chain soldering, or any other manu- 
facturing problem, and if you are not entirely familiar 
with a process it is best to consult a production engineer 
iffi that line of business, 



260 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 



CHAPTER VII. 



FITTING UP A POLISHING ROOM. 
Machinery that is Needed — The Use of Polishing Tubs — 
The Electroplating or Coloring Art — 'the Use of the 
Dynamo. 

FIT up your polishing department with both 
polishing lathes and tubs. A polishing bench 
for a shop of the size considered in these arti- 
cles should have at least four lathes, and in buying 
polishing lathes remember that the lathe that will run 
at the highest rate of speed is the best, as the faster 
the buff or brush revolves the quicker it cuts. Con- 
sequently you should insist on a machine that will run 
fast without trouble. 

Speed of polishing heads varies greatly. Usually it is 
from 3500 to 4000 R.P.M. This, in the writer's opinion, 
is not fast enough, but is about the limit of most of the 
machines on the market. Six thousand or even 7000 
R.P.M. would be none too fast, and I should certainly 
look the machine dealers over very carefully, to find some 
maker that could furnish lathes to run that speed. 

Then I should equip with tubs of the open and closed 
type, as tubbing is a very satisfactory method of finishing 
goods in quantities if managed intelligently, but it re- 
quires good judgment as well as experience. Briefly, it 
consists of allowing the pieces to be polished to rub 
against each other, usually in a soap solution, and it must 
be borne in mind that any sharp corners will not only 
wear away first, but pit or spot the smooth surfaces of 
other pieces. 

This is a subject on which no general details can be 
given, except remember that polishing done by this 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 261 



method is a surprise to many manufacturers, and I would 
advise consulting with some one experienced in quantity 
production to start you right. If you read the advertise- 
■ments in The Mamufacturing Jeweler you will ob- 
serve that manufacturers of this kind of machinery make 
them for all conditions that you will encounter. 

The art or trade of coloring or electroplating consists 
of depositing gold or silver on base metal by an electric 
current, and to do this successfully requires more or less 
knowledge of both electricity and chemistry. The appa- 
ratus needed is a dynamo for generating direct current 
electricity, suitable tanks or earthen crocks for contain- 
ing solutions, and means for heating same, as some of 
these solutions must be used warm, and some cleaning 
solutions hot. 

To get at the matter theoretically you must first clean 
the article to be plated. This does not mean simply to 
wash it, but it must be absolutely "chemically clean" ; that 
is, not only free from all oil, grease or other substances, 
but free from corrosion, tarnish or oxidization or any of 
the conditions that base metals are subject to. It is im- 
practical to give complete directions and formulas for 
electroplating, as there are so many different conditions 
to be considered, but the cleaning just mentioned applies 
to them all. 

The dynamo must be of sufficient size to generate 
enough current for all the work you can hang in the solu- 
tion at one time. In other words, the dynamo and solution 
holders must be of a size consistent with the amount of 
work to be handled. The wiring must be of suitable size 
to carry all the work the tanks will hold. It is quite cus- 
tomary to use a dynamo of about 15 voltage, as that is the 
highest that is used, and when a lower voltage is required, 
to reduce by the use of resistance coils. This is a method 
that requires quite a lot of good judgment and fine ad- 
justment, and if your work is in large quantities it is bet- 
ter to standardize. That is, remember that like condi- 



262 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 



tions always give like results, and the lower the electric 
voltage the finer the deposit, but also the slower. 

After determining what kind of a deposit you want, 
regulate the dynamo speed to give the voltage actually re- 
quired, doing away with resistance coils as far as possible, 
as a resistance coil is nothing but a brake, and all brakes 
are more or less uncertain. 

It should be the aim of the colorer to waste as little 
current as possible, and that can be done only by generat- 
mg just what you use. In case your business does not 
warrant the services of a high-class electroplater, it is 
best to have your plating outfit installed by some reliable 
company who can fit you out according to the kind of 
work you intend to do. 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 263 



CHAPTER VIII. 



CHAIN MESH AND SCREW MACHINES. 
The Chain Mesh Machines next in Importance to Chain 
Machines — Mesh Machines an Adaptation of Chain 
and Knitting Machine Mechanism — Button Making 
Machines — The Screw Machine. 

NEXT to the chain machines in general use come 
the machines for making chain mesh. The 
method of making the product is not unlike 
chain making. The machines in use on this work, 
both in this country and Europe, are of two types : first 
the machine that has the general appearance and 
characteristics of a textile knitting machine, making 
a soldering chain, that is, by the use of solder-filled 
wire, tubular form, the tube vertical and feed up. The 
weight of mesh already made is counter-balanced by 
weights hung on a cord, passing over a pulley attached 
to the ceiling directly over the center of the machine, 
and connected by a swivel to mesh that is slowly re- 
volving and rising as the tube grows in length. When 
the tube gets of sufficient length to become heavy it is 
cut off just above the machine and then split lengthwise, 
causing a waste of approximately one-half of one per 
cent. The forming of the ring itself is identical ^vith 
that of a chain link, except that the staple first formed 
passes through two links already made instead of one, 
as in the case of chain. 

This machine is a direct adaptation of the well known 
mechanisms of the chain and knitting machines. The 
other type of machine, that is by many experts, especially 
in Europe, considered superior, forms the link much the 
same, but no doubt feeds the wire in a more positive and 



264 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 



better way, and makes the mesh as a flat fabric instead of 
tubular, and as this can be made in any convenient width 
it does away with the waste in spHtting that the tubular 
form is subject to, and can also be cut to a better advan- 
tage. The original inventor of this machine probably was 
the first to form and place the link in position through the 
previously formed rings, but from lack of financial back- 
ing was delayed in perfecting the mechanism for feeding 
fiat mesh into position to receive the next link ; conse- 
quently the patents are of a slightly later date, but no 
doubt have more original features and hold more prom- 
ise for future developments, being available for manufac- 
turers wigjiing to take advantage of the world-wide de- 
mand for this product. 

The process of soldering mesh is of the same principle 
as soldering chain, that is, by the use of solder filled wire 
to make the mesh, fluxing and heating much the same as 
in chain soldering. Up to the present time soldering mesh 
in a continuous strip or by a complete or semi-automatic 
process has not been accomplished. This is a good thing 
for inventors to consider. 

Buttons of various kinds are also produced by the aid 
of automatic machines. The collar button is almost al- 
ways made that way, generally on what is known as an 
eyelet machine. An eyelet machine is in reality a press, 
but with a number of plungers, each plunger or vertical 
slide performing one operation, and in place of dropping 
the part into a receptacle beneath the press, it is taken from 
the tool by a pair of ingenious steel fingers and placed in 
position to receive the next plunger, and so on until all 
the various operations are performed, as blanking, cup- 
ping, drawing, reducing the size of neck or stem, trim- 
ming surplus stock from the edge, and forming a rolled 
edge around the base, and finally dropping a completely 
formed collar button. Then there is another process that 
is about the same as the first, up to the point of reducing 
the post or neck, which is done by a spinning process; 



HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 265 



that is, the cup or cartridge is rapidly revolved between 
rolls that slowly close together until the neck of the but- 
ton is reduced to the desired size. 

In making link buttons or any button, such as metal 
dress buttons or military buttons that have a wire eye on 
the neck, there are some very ingenious presses in use that 
cut and draw the cup, punch holes in the back, and at the 
same time and on the same machine form an eye of wire 
and rivet it into the button back without any handling by 
the operator. These machines or presses are so highly de- 
veloped and produce so rapidly that button making by 
hand, or any of the slow methods, has become a thing of 
the past. 

There is still another automatic machine process that is 
used more or less in making component parts of jewelry, 
and that is what is known as the screw machine. A screw 
machine is practically an automatic lathe on which the ar- 
ticle to be made is cut from the solid rod of metal in place 
of being swaged or fbrmed as by a press. The head or 
lathe spindle is hollow, and is revolved at a suitable 
speed, while the metal rod is automatically fed through 
the same, and at the same time cutters engage in cutting 
o& the surplus material. Still another cutter advances in 
position and parts or cuts off the piece already shaped, 
and the cutters all fall back to the original position, while 
the stock is automatically pushed forward the right dis- 
tance to turn the next article, and so on continuously. 
This is a method used in making the balls with stem used 
as clasps for bag and purse tops, also in turning ornamen- 
tal hangers for mesh bags and other articles, and some- 
times for turning chain bars or brass swivel heads, etc. 

In closing these chapters, let me again caution the pro- 
spective manufacturer not to be afraid of what the ones 
ahead of him are doing. There is always room for im- 
provement over the other fellow's methods, and the pos- 
sibilities of specializing and standardizing, and the devel- 
opment of automatic machinery, have not been exhausted ; 



266 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 



rather, in the jewelry business, it has only been scratched 
a little, and there are better prospects along these lines 
now than ever before. 

When the argument is put forth that there is not room 
for more manufacturers on any special line, there is al- 
ways the question of which one will be crowded out, and 
in wanting to know more about where to find special or 
automatic machines consult The Manufacturing Jezv- 
eler, or some of their advertisers. It is all between the 
covers, if you care to look. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Accounts, metal, . . 131 

Acetic acid for dissolving aniline, 144 



Acid coloring. 


. 62 


Acid for testing gold. 


. 128 


" fumes, antidote for, . . 


. 69 


" fumes, to avoid, 


. 67 


" parting. 


. 118 


" pickle, 25, 213 


Alkali solutions, 


. 254 


Alcohol, heating by steam. 


. 142 


Alloys, copper for, . . 


. 14 


gold. 


10,20 


(See also "Solders.") 






' Guinea, 


12, 13 




hard. 


. 12 




' how to put in crucible. 


6 




' for acid coloring, 14k, 


. 63 




' " die work 


. 12 




' " enamel work, 12, 


17, 98 




' " eyeglass frames. 


. 199 




' " half-pearl work. 


. 154 




' " pearl-pave work. 


. 185 




' " wire. 


. 26 




10k and 14k, 


. 202 




' knife edge, . . 


. 12 




' . of coin gold. 


. 145 




' silver. 


71, 73 




' pale, .. .. 12,14,154 




' prepared, on market. 


. 13 




' ring, . . 


. 145 




' silver-platinum. 


. 74 




stiff, 


. 12 




' tough. 


. 12 




' variegated, . . 


. 10 




' white gold, . . 


. 13 


Amber varnish on engraved ivory 


, 144 


Ammonium chloride, 


.6,31 


" " for platinuE 


a 


solutions, . . 12 


i, 129 


" sulphide. 


. 80 


Amyl acetate. 


. 59 


Aniline on engraved ivory. 


. 144 


Annealing, . . 


8 


" (See also "Melting,") 




" on sheet iron forms. 


185 


" plated stock. 


. 23 


" silver, 


.9,73 


wire, . . 9, 2 


3, 185 


Ant 


)des for gilding, . . 


. 55 



PAGE 

Antidotes for acid fumes and other 
poisons, . . . . 69, 70 

Anti-oxidizing fluids, . . . . 38 

Appendix, . . . . . . 228 

Aprons cleaned by the factory, . . 142 

Aqua regia for dissolving gold, . . 128 

" " " " platinum, 

82, 108 
Arrow design, . . . . 194 

Arsenic in green gold solutions, . . 53 
Asbestos string, . . 168 

Asphaltum for resists, . . . . 60 

" on engraved ivory, . . 144 

Automatic machines, . . . . 257 

" stamps, . . . . . . 243 

"Azures," . . . . 154 



B. 

Backing, base metal for, . . . . 21 

" stock for, . . . . . . 11 

" where to buy, . . . . 21 

Balancing metal accounts, . . 133 

Barium sulphide, . . . . . 82 

Baroque pearls, cost of, . . . . 148 

" to drill, . . . . 158 

Barrels for washings, . . . . 125 

Base metals, . . . . 231 

" price on pearls . . . . 229 

Beading tools., to make, . . 153 

Beeswax for drawing wire, . . 26 

Bench filings, recovery of, 116, 121 

Bench work, 253 

Berge, crucible dealer, . . . . 7 

Bichromate of potash for testing 

silver, . . 75 

Bisulphide of carbon, . . 79 

Black and gray finishes on silver, 

80, 84 

" enamel on silver, . . 88, 92 

" iridium, . . 100 

" nickel solutions, . . . . 84 

" paint for engraved ivory, . . 144 
Blowers, suction, . . . . . . 205 

Blowpipe for soldering, . . 37, 255 
" oxy-hydrogen, . . . . 101 

Blue-black finish on silver, . . 80 

" " gun metal finish, . . 85 

Blue gold, 11 

Boracic acid, when soldering, 38, 204 



268 Index. 



PAGE 

Borax, as flux, 9, 254 

" in soldering, . . 37, 39 

Bow drill, 157 

Bowknot design, • • 194 

Bracelets, filled with cement or 

sand, . . . . 24 

Bran water, . . . . 49 

Brass in solders, . . 30, 31 

Brass, composition of, . . . • 232 

Bright silver solution, .. ..79 

Bronze powders, . . . . 61 

Brushes for polishing, . . . - 205 

Brushing, scratch, . . . . . . 49 

Buffs, cotton, 207 

" felt, 206 

Burnishers, hand, . . . . . • 207 

Burnishing rings, . . . . . . 203 

Burr or frazer, ■ ■ 153 

Burring, ■ • 248 

"Butler" finish on silver, . . . . 80 

Butter of antimony, . . 82 

Buying machinery, . . • ■ 234 

" of stones 147,229 



Cadmium in solders, . . 30, 31 

Camphor to prevent tarnishing, . . 58 
Carbon bisulphide, . . . . 79 

Card system for orders, . . 247 

Casting in cuttlefish, . . 209 

Celluloid for lacquer, . . 59 

Cement filling in bracelets, . . 24 

Cementing and stringing pearls, 

156, 160, 172 
Cements for pearls, 159, 223 

Chain links, refilling and renewing, 217 
Chain making, . . . . . . 169 

" rope, . . 27 

" machines, operations of, . . 258 
" mesh machines, . . 263 

Chains, neck, ■ ■ 171 

" repolishing, . . 218 

to make 169, 172 

Charcoal, for melting, 7 

Charging solder, . . 254 

Charms, 190 

Chemically clean metals, . . . . 261 

" pure gold, . . 130 

Chloride of gold, 49 

" " lime, to remove tarn- 
ish, 58 

" " platinum, to make, . . 108 

" " platinum, on silver, . . 82 

" silver, . . 72, 119 

" " zinc for soldering, . . 39 

Claw or cramp work, . . 153 

Cleaning metal parts, .254 

Cleansing tarnished ware, . . . . 58 

Clips for eyeglasses, . . . . 198 

Clover design, . . . . - ■ 174 

Cluster setting, . . . . 164 

Coiling wire, . . . . ■ ■ 9 

Coin gold, to alloy, . . . . 145 

Collets, interchangeable, . . . . 237 



page: 

Coloring, acid, . . 62 

" acid, 14k alloy for, . . 63 
" chains, . . 171 

" gold, see "Gold electro- 
plating," 
gold plating, 222, 261 

" room, precautions in, . . 67 
" soft solder, . . 213 

" with soft stones in, . . 43 
Colors, variegated, in alloys, . . 10 
Composition of brass, . . 232 

Copper carbonate, . . . . . . 54 

" cyanide, to make, . . . . 57 

" " solution, . . . . 79 

" electroplating and dipping, 

79,84 
" in gilding solutions, . . 54 
" shot and wire, for alloying, 14 
" sulphate, for coloring sold- 
er, 213 

" to remove from plated ware 

25, 223 
Copperas, for gold solutions, 

121, 123, 129 
" in the wash barrels, . . 126 

Cost of platinum jewelry, . . . . 108 

" " precious and semi-precious 

stones, . . 147, 149 

Costs, figuring, . . 134, 137, 228 

Costs, (labor) to reduce, . . . . 138 

Cramp or claw work, . . 153 

Creping enamel, . . . . 90 

Cross, Maltese, • • 188 

Crucibles, for acid coloring . . 64 

" " melting gold, . . 6 

" " " platinum, . . 101 

Cvu-rent for gilding, . . . . 49 

Cutter holders, . . . . 238 

Cutting basic metals, . . . . 248 

" off a ring, . . • . 166 

" small wire rings, . . . . 27 

Cuttlefish, -209 

Cyanide, "free" In gold solutions, 

51, 56, 57 
" " " silver solutions, 76 

of gold, 50 

" " silver, . . . . . . 77 

" poisoning, . . . . 70 

" solutions, recovery of 

gold and silver from, . . 121 



Designs,, 



D. 

252 

arrow, . . • • 194 

bowknot, . . . . . • 194 

chain, . . • ■ 170 

enamel work, . . 173, 177 
flowers and leaves, 173, 177 
for platinum work, 

106, 112, 115 

pins, . . 178, 192, 195 

" placques, . . . . 195 

" rings 162, 165 

horseshoe, . . . . 183 



Index. 



269 



type 



PAGE 

of 

.. 107 
.. 1, 5 
.. 106 
3, 106 
.. 147 
.. 45 
.. 244 
239, 243, 244 



Designers and jewelers, 
men, . . 

" hints to, . . 

" in platinum, 

" supplies for. 
Diamonds, to buy, . . 

" when heated. 
Die holders, patent. 
Dies, 

Dies and lathes for engine turning, 99 

Dies, round tapered, . . 244 

" standard, . . 244 

Die work, alloy for, . . . . 12 

"Dipping" solution, silver, . . 76 

Dishonesty among workmen, . . 131 

Dissolving gold in aqua regia, . . 128 

" platinum in aqua regia, 

82, 108 

Dovetailed hammers, , . 244 

Drawing and working wire, , . 26 

Drawings in platinum work, . . 106 

Drill, bow, 157 

Drill chuck, 249 

" press, 237, 250 

Drilling pearls, . . 156 

" work for pearls, . . . . 152 

Drills, 151, 156 

" hardening and tempering, . . 152 

Drop press work, . . 243 
Dynamos for electroplating, 49, 261 

E 
Eating copper out of hollow wire, 

25, 223 
Electric current, gilding with, 49, 58 
" motive power, . . . . 234 

Electrolytic process for refining 

gold, 13 

Electroplated jewelry, . . 231 

Electroplating, . . 261 

" solutions,see "Gold" 

"Silver," "Nick- 
Emblems, .. .'. '. . .. 188 
Emery wheels, . . 248, 251 
" " grit numbers, . . 251 
" " bond grades, . . 251 
Emery wheel stands, . . . . 250 
Enamel, black on sUver, . . . . 88 
etching, . . 90, 100 
fluxing, . . , . 95, 100 
" grinding, . . . . 93 
" over engine turning, 96, 98 

pink, 100 

" to remove, . . . . 94 

" transparent, . . 96, 99 

Enameled chains, , . . . . . 172 

" flower designs, . . . . 176 

Enameling, 93, 100 

gold for, 12, 17, 97, 100 

Engine lathe, 236 

" turning lathe and dies, . . 99 

" " under enamel, 96, 98 

English finish, . . 51, 57 

Engraved ivory, . . 144, 



Etching enamel, 90, 100 
Etruscan work, acid coloring on, . . 64 
" " half-ring trimming, 27 
Excelsior in wash barrels, . . . . 125 
Expenses, shop, . . 135 
Eyeglass frames, . . 196 
Eyelet machines for making but- 
tons, 264 



Fabric, flat and tubular, , . . . 264 

Factory, locating of, . . . . 263 

Ferrules, metal, on wood, . . . . 219 

Figuring shop cost, . . 134, 228 

" speeds, . . . . 251 

Files, 239, 253 

Filigree or vermicelli work, . . 224 

Filings, recovery of metal from, 116, 122 
Filtration of washings, filter press- 
ses, etc., . . . . . . 125 

Findings, economy in buying, 138, 176 
Fine gold, to prepare, . . 117 

Finishes, black and gray, on silver, 

80,84 

" on gold, see "Gold Elec- 
troplating," 

" on silver, . . 74, 75 

Flat plates, 190 

Flower work, . . . . 173 

Fluids for soldering, 37, 39, 204 

Flux, borax, . . . . . . 254 

Fluxes, 6, 7 

" for refining lemel, . . 116 

" silver, . . . . 9, 72 

" in making solder, . . . . 31 

" used in U. S. assay office, 7 

Fluxing enamel, . . . . 95, 100 

Foot presses, . . . . . . 243 

Forces, 243 

Formulas for solder, ... . . 32 

Frazer or burr, . . 153 

Free cyanide in gold solutions, 51,56,57 
" " in silver solutions, . . 76 

French gray on silver, . . 81, 82 

Frosted platinum, . . . . 108 

Fulminating gold, . . . . 50 

" . . explosions due 

to, .. ..68 

Fumes, from acid refining, . . 124 

" how to avoid, . . 67 

Furnace for melting platinum, . . 101 



G. 

Gamboge for resists. 

Gang boss, . . 

Gauges, 

Gauging stock. 

Gelatine in engraved ivory. 

Gilders metal. 

Gilding, see "Gold electroplating 

Girls as pattern makers, . . 

Gold alloys, all kinds, 

(See also "Alloys.") 



60 
255 
242 
242 
144 
232 

253 
20 



270 



Index. 



Gold alloys for enamel work, 

12, 17, 98, 100 

" " for wire, . . 26 

" " "Guinea" . . 12, 14 

" " 18k from coin gold, . . 145 

Gold and silver, to recover from 

cyanides, . , . . 121 
" and silver, to recover from 

filings, 122 

" and silver, to recover from 

scrap, . . 116 

" as refined in U. S. Mints, 130 

" backing on platinum work, . . 106 

" bar pins, figuring cost of, . . 228 

" chemically pure, . . 130 

" chloride, to make, 49 

" coin, ■ . . . . 145 
" coloring, see "Gold electro- 
plating." 
" electroplating, . . 49, 58 
English finish, 





51, 57 


" " green gold 


.. 52 


" green gold. 


"smut," 


.. 53 


14k, .. 


.. 54 


" red gliding 


, 55, 58 


" " roman. 


50 


" " rose. 


52, 226 


' enameling on. 


98, 100 


Gold-filled jewelry, 


.. 231 


Gold, melting point of. 


.. 142 


plating stock. 


.. 21 


" to anneal. 


8, 185 


" to dissolve, . . 


.. 128 


" to keep track of, 


.. 131 


" to melt, 


6, 8, 145 


" to precipitate, 


121, 129 


" " " with oxalic 


acid. 


.. 130 


" to roll. 


.. 146 


Gold, to recover, . . 121, 


129, 225 


to test for purity, . . 


.. 128 


" tubing, plated. 


23 


Granulating metal. 


.. 118 


Gravers, to polish, 


.. 152 


Gray finishes on silver. 


81, 82 


Green gold, 


.. 11 


" " finish, . . 


.. 52 


Guinea alloy. 


12, 14 


" " in refining lemel. 


.. 117 


Gum tragacanth, . . 


37, 42 


Gun metal finish, . . 


.. 85 


" " " to remove. 


.. 87 



H. 
Hacksaw, .237 

Half-pearl work,, . . 150, 154 

" " " stock and alloys 

for, .. ..154 

Half-ring trimming, . . . . 27 

Hand press, . . 237, 245 

Hard alloy, 12 

Hard and soft platinum, . . 103, 105 
Hardening drills, . . . . 152, 158 



Heating stones, danger of, 43, 45, 203 

High brass, 232 

Hollow pins, . . 185 

" ware soldering, . . . . 33 

" wire, filled with sand or 

cement, . . 24 

" " eating copper out of, 223 

Horse shoe jewelry, . . 183 

Hydrofluoric acid on enamel, 90, 100 

Hydrogen for melting platinum, . . 101 



I. 



India ink on engraved 


ivory. 


.. 145 


Ingots, 




8, 9 


Inspecting tools. 




.. 247 


Iridium black. 




.. 100 


" in platinum. 




103, 105 


" recovery of. 




.. 124 


Iron electroplating. 




.. 85 


" silver plating. 




.. 79 


" sulphate, see "Copperas. 


' 


Ivory, engraved, . . 




.. 145 



Jack-die, 244 

Jewelers and designers, type of 

men, . . . . . . . . 107 

Jewelry designs, see "Designs." 

" platinum, . . 105, 115 

" silver, . . . . . . 88 

Jointing heavy rings, . . . . 220 

K. 

Karat gold, see "Alloys." 

" meaning of term, . . 16 

Keeping track of gold, . . . . 131 

Knife-edge alloys, . . . . . . 12 



Labor and time savers, . . 141 

Labor costs, reducing, . . 138 

(See also "Costs.") 

Lacquer, . . 59 

" to remove, . . 60 

" on engraved ivory, . . 145 

Laps, wood, . . . . ■ . 206 

Lathes, bench, . . 237, 248 

" engine, . • 236 

" polishing, . . . . 260 

" and dies for engine turn- 
ing, . . 99 
Lead pipes in enameling sinks, . . 126 
Lemel refining, . . • ■ 116 
Light weight "leaders," . . . . 140 

Lime in the filter press, . . . . 127 

Linking chains, . . . . . . 171 

Links, enameled, . . ■ • 1'72 

Litharge on engraved ivory, . . 145 

Liver of sulphur, . . . . 80 

Location of factory, . . . . 263 

Lorgnette frames, . . . . . . 196 

Low brass, . . . . . . - • 232 



Index. 



271 



M 

Machines, automatic, . . 257 

" chain, . . 257 

" " mesh, . . 263 

" eyelet, . . . . 264 

Machines for soldering links, . . 259 

" screw, . . . . 263 

Magnesia, . . 58, 154 

Magnet for cleaning filings, 116, 122 

Making a line of pins, . . 178, 183 

" eyeglass frames, . . . . 196 

" flower work, . . 173 

" pearl jewelry, . . . . 150 

" plated jewelry, . . . . 231 

Maltese cross, . . . . . . 188 

Mandrel, 167 

Marquise rings, . . . . . . 164 

Mask, brass, . . . . . . 60 

Mastic for pearls, . . . 159 

Matt finish, 222 

Melees, diamond, . . . . . . 147 

Melting coin gold, . . . . . 146 

" gold alloys, . . 6, 7 

" (See also "Alloys" and 

"Annealing.") 
" platinum, . . . . 101 

silver, . . 8, 72, 75 

Mercury dip for silver plating, . . 78 
Metal ferrules on wood, . . . . 219 

Metallizing silver chloride, 72, 119 

Metals, cleaning, , . . . . . 261 

cutting, 248 

Meter fpr platinum melting, . . 101 

Micrometer, . . . . 242 

Millers, special, . . . . 249 

Milling, 248 

machine, 237 

Mint, U. S., method of refining, . . 130 
Mixing molten metals, . . 7 

Modeling wax, . . . . 175 

Molding with cuttlefish, . . . . 209 

Mounting pearls, etc., . . 154 

Mourning jewelry, . . . . 83 



N 

Neck chains, . . . . 171 

Nickel solutions, black, . . 84 

" silver alloys, . . 73 

" sweated on platinum, . . 103 

Nitrate of silver for blackening 

ivory, . . . . . . 145 

Nitrate of silver to make, 52, 77 

Nitric acid pickle, . . 25, 40 

" for parting, . . 118, 226 

" " " refining silver, . . 72 

" " " testing silver, . . 75 

Novelties, 192 



O. 
Ochre, . . 39, 42, 46, 216, 218 

Oil of vitriol, 254 

Oxalic acid in refining, . . 124 

" " to precipitate gold, . . 130 



PAGE 
Oxford eyeglass frames, .196 

Oxidizing silver, 80, 83 

Oxygen for platinum melting, . . 90 



Pale alloys, . . 12 


14, 154 


Pansy design. 


.. 174 


ParafRne and aniline. 




. 145 


Parting gold and silver. 




. 118 


Patent die holders, . . 




. 244 


Pattern book. 




. 134 


" making. 




. 252 


Pearl cement, 




. 223 


" jewelry, making of, . . 




. 150 


" ropes. 




. 160 


Pearls, cementing, . . 




. 159 


" cost of. 


148, 229 


drilling. 


.. 156 


" for, 


.. 152 


" on chains, . . 


.. 172 


" pegs for fastening, . . 


159, 186 


" riveting. 


.. 159 


" stringing. 


.. 160 


Pickle for soldering. 


.. 40 


" nitric acid, . . 


25, 40 


" sulphuric acid, 40, 118, 


203, 254 


Pin tongues, alloy for, 


.. 12 


Pink enamel. 


.. 100 


Pins, making. 


178, 183 


Plates, flat, 


.. 190 


Plated wire, . . 


.. 24 


Plating solutions, see "Gold," 


"Silver," "Nickel," etc. 




Plating stock. 


.. 21 


" voltage used in. 


.. 261 


Platinum, alloys with iridium, 


103,105 


" " " silver. 


.. 74 


anode for gilding. 


.. 55 


" chloride, to make. 


82, 108 


" " on silver. 


82, 83 


" electroplating. 


.. 108 


hard and soft, . . 


103, 105 


" jewelry, cost of. 


108, 228 


" " designs,106 


,112,115 


" " hand labor 


on. 111 


with gold back- 


ing. 


.. 106 


" " working on 


, 105,113 


" melting. 


.. 101 


" oxidize finish, . . 


.. 83 


" sand blasted. 


.. 108 


" solder, . . 


.. 104 


" sweated on nickel. 


.. 103 


" to polish. 


.. 223 


" to refine. 


.. 103 


" to recover. 


123, 130 


Plaster forms, 


.. 174 


Plaque designs. 


193, 195 


Pliers for drilling pearls, . . 


.. 156 


Plunger holder. 


.. 238 


Poisons, antidotes for. 


.. 70 


" precautions against. 




.. 67 



Polish, to protect with boracic acid, 204 
Polishing and burnishing, 205, 208 

gravers with emery paper, 152 



272 



Index. 



PAGE 

Polishing lathes, 205, 260 

" platinum, . . 223 

" with half-pearls in, . . 58 

" tubs, .. .. 260 

Polishings, sweeps, etc., refining of, 120 
Pounder for stirring, . . . . 223 

Pouring melted alloys, . . 8 

Power, electric, . . . . 234 

Precious stones, . . . . 147 

Precipitating gold with copperas, 

121, 129 

" platinum, . . 130 

" silver chloride, . . 119 

Precision bench lathe, 237, 248, 249 

Presses, arch type, . . 246 

" balance wheel, . . 246 

" double action, . . . . 246 

" foot, . . . . 243, 245 

" hand, . . . . 237, 245 

" overhand, . . 246 

" power, . . 243, 245 

Press tools, . . . . . . . . 246 

Prices of precious stones, . . . . 147 

Princess rings, . . . . 164 

Production cost, . . . . 134, 143 

Pumice powder, . . . . . . 81 

Pump drill, . . . . 151 

Q. 

Quality stamp, . . 11, 33 

" to raise or lower, . . 20 

Quenching dies, . . . . . . 143 

" silver, . . . . . . 143 

Quicking dip, . . . . . . 79 

R. 
Recoloring, acid, . . . . 62 

Reconstructed stones, . . . . 148 

Recovery of gold, 121, 129, 225 

" " " from cyanide so- 

lutions 121 
" " " filings, .. 122 
" " " " scrap, . . 116 

" "silver, 72, 119 

" " " from cyanide 

solu- 
tions, . . 121 
" " " filings, .. 122 

" " " " scrap, . . 116 

" platinum, 102, 123, 130 
Red gilding, . . . . 55, 58 

" gold, 11 

Reducing labor costs, . . . . 138 

Refilling and renewing chain links. 217 

Refining gold in U. S. Mint, . . 130 

(See also "Recovery") 

" gold electrolytically, . . 130 

lemel, 116 

" mixed scrap, . . . . 116 

" platinum, 102, 123, 130 

Refining polishings, . . 120 

" silver scrap, . . . . 72 

" sweeps, etc., . . 120 

U. S. Assay Office, . . 120 
" Wohlwill process, . . 130 



PAGE 

Remelting alloys, . . . . . . 142 

" " to avoid, . . 7 

Removing gun metal finish, 87 

" scale, .. .. ..254 

Repairing chains, -.. .. .. 217 

" stone-set work, . . . . 45 

Resistance coil, . . . . 262 

Resists for two-color work, . . 59 

Ribbons in pins, etc., . . 193 

Rings, jointing, . . . . . . 220 

" gypsy, . . 42 

" 18k alloy for, . . . . 145 

" making all styles of, . . 161 

" sizing and soldering, . . 166 

" spring, . . 24 

" to remove from finger, . . 166 

" wire, . . . . 27 

Riveting pearls, . . . . . . 159 

Rolling metal, . . 8, 242 

18k gold, 145 

" plated stock, . . . . 23 

" wire, . . . . 8 

Roman gold solution, . . . . 50 

Rope chain making, . . . . 27 

Ropes of pearls, . . . . . . 160 

Rose gold coloring solution, 50,52,226 
Rose water, to neutralize poisons, 68 

Rouge, bar, . . . . . . 206 

S. 

Sal ammoniac, . . 6, 31 

for platinum, 123, 129 

Saltpetre in melting, 8 

Sand bath, to make, . . . . 120 

" blast on platinvmi, . . . . 108 

" filling in bracelets, . . . . 24 

Satin finish on black enamel, . . 90 

Sautoir chains, . . . . 171 

Saving time and labor, . . 138, 141 

Sawdust, boxwood, . . 207 

Scrap, recovery of gold and silver 

from, 72, 116 

Scratch brushing, . . . . . . 49 

Screens for filtering washings, . . 125 

Screw machines, . . . . . . 263 

Semi-precious stones, cost of, . . 148 

Sensitive drill, 237 

Setting and adjusting tools, . . 246 

" soft stones, . . 42, 43 

" stones in platinum, . . 154 

Shellac, dissolving, . . . . . . 142 

" for cement, . . . . 223 

" " pearls, .. 159 

" " resists, . . . . 60 

Shellac, for stone setting, . . . . 42 

Shop cost, to figure, . . 134, 228 

" problems, . . . . 144 

Shot copper, for alloying, . . . . 14 

" system of checking, . . 132 

Signet rings, . . . . 162 

Silicate of sodium on engraved ivory,145 

Silver and its alloys, . . 71, 75 

" annealing, . . 9, 73 

" black enamel on, . . . . 88 

" " finishes on, . . 80, 84 



Index. 



273 



Silver chloride, to reduce, . 
" cyanide, 
" jewelry, 
" melting, 
" nitrate on engraved ivory, 



72, 119 
52, 78 
.. 88 
8, 72 
145 
nitrate, to make, . . 52, 77 

" oxidizing, . . . . 80, 83 

" plating, . . 54, 76 

" " . base metals, . . 79 

bright, .. ..79 

" " mercury dip for, . . 79 

Silver-platinum alloys, . . . . 74 

" quenching, . . . . 143 

" recovery from acid solution, 119 
" " " cyanide solu- 



tion, 
filings, 
scrap. 



121 
.. 122 

72, 116 

73, 75, 254 

.. 73 



Silver solders, 
" "spitting, 
" sterling, . . . . . . 72 

" "strike," . . . . . . 79 

" testing, . . . . . . 75 

" to remove from fine gold, . . 128 
Sinks for washing, . . . . . . 124 

Sizing and soldering rings, . . 166 

Slate borax, . . . . . . 37 

Soda for washing work, . . 206 

Sodium silicate on engraved ivory, 145 

Soft solder, 215 

to color, . . . . 213 

" " to remove, . . 48 

Soft stones, coloring with in, . . 43 

setting, . . 42, 46 

Solder, charging, . , . . . . 254 

" silver, . . 254 

Soldering, . . 37, 44, 201, .214, 253 

" and sizing rings, . . 166 

" and stonesetting, . . 41 

" blow-pipe, . . . . 37 

fluids 37, 204 

" fluxes, . . . . 37 

hints, 37, 44, 198, 213 

" mesh, . . . . . . 264 

" nests, . . . . 40, 219 

" pickle, . . . . . . 40 

plated stock, . . 22, 23 

Soldering tableware, . . 214 

" to prevent joints from, 39,41 

" twist wire, . . . . 41 

" with boracic acid, 38, 204 
" " borax, . . 37, 41 

" " Borum junk, . . 37 

" ochre, 39, 42, 216 

" " Venice turpentine, 39 

" " zinc - muriatic -acid 

mixture, 39, 215 

Solders and the quality stamp, . . 33 

brass in, . . . . 31, 203 

" cadmium in, . . 30, 31 

" copper for, . . 29 

formulas for, . . 18, 32, 35 

gold, . . 18, 19, 32 

lead in, 215 

" platinum, . . . . . . 104 



PAGE 



19, 29, 31 
73, 75 
.. 215 
.. 213 
.. 48 
.. 215 
29,32 



254 



220 

87 

139 

138 

251 

251 

251 

152 

73 

159 

24 

244 



Solders quality to use, 

" silver, 

" soft, to make, 

" " to color, 

" " to remove, 

" tin in, 

" to make,, 

" " " from karat scrap, 203 

" zinc in, . . . . . . 31 

Solutions, alkali, 

' for electroplating, see 

"Gold,", "Silver," 
"Nickel," etc.. 
Solution for stripping, 

" " " gun metal. 

Specialists, . . 
Specialty shops. 
Speeds, figuring of, 

" spindle, 

' periphery, . . 
Spit-stick, 
"Spitting" in silver. 
Split pegs for pearls. 
Spring rings, . . 
Stamp hammers, dovetailed, 

" quality, and effect of solder, 33 
Stamps, automatic, . . . . 243 

foot, 243 

Stamping and press work, . . 241 
Standard press tools, . . . . 238 
Steel, carbon, 243 

" Stubbs, . . . . 151, 153 

" tool, 239 

" balls, 207 

" to silver plate, . . . . 79 

Steam pipe in sink, . . . . 142 

Sterling silver, . . . . 72 

Stiff alloy, 12 

Stirring device, . . . . . . 223 

Stock drill, 151 

Stock for half-pearl work, . . . . 154 

" plate, how designated, . . 241 
Stone-set work, to repair, . . 45 

Stones, scientific, . . . . 148 

" semi-precious, .. .. 148 

setting, . . 42, 46, 154 

" buying of, . . . . 147 

" that stand heating, 45, 203 

" protecting with tissue 

paper, . . 43, 46, 167 

"Strike" solution for silver plating, 79 
Stringing pearls, . . 156, 160, 172 

Stripping gun metal finish, . . 87 

solution, . . 13, 220 

Stubb's steel, . . 151, 153 

Sulphate of copper electroplating 

solution, . . 79 
" " " for coloring 

solder, .. 213 

" " iron, see "Copperas." 
Sulphide of ammonia, . . 80 

" " barium, . . 82 

Sulphur, liver of, . . . . 80 

Sulphuric acid pickle, 40, 118, 213, 254 
Supplies for designers, . . 3, 106 



274 



Index. 



PAGE 

Surface grinder, . . 237 

plate, 237 

Sweeps, polishings, etc., disposal of, 120 

Swivel vise, . . . . . . 237 

Systems of checking, . . . . 132 



T. 



214 
126 
58 
to pre- 

.. 58 

152, 158 

128, 129 

75 

131 



Tableware, to solder. 
Tanks for washing. 
Tarnish, to remove. 
Tarnishing in show-case, 

vent, 
Tempering drills, . . 
Testing gold, 

" silver. 
Theft among workmen, 
Thin goods, unprofitable, . . 136 

Thrums, 218 

" for polishing, . . 206 

Tiffany rings, . . . . 163 

Time and labor savers, . . 141 

Tissue paper for protecting stones, 

43, 46, 167 

Tool making for plated jewelry, . . 236 

" steel, . . . . 238 

Tools for bench work, . . . . 253 

" inspecting, . . . . 247 

" making, . . 150, 158 

" press, . . . . . . 246 

" setting and adjusting, . . 246 

" standard press, . . . . 238 

Tough alloy, . . . . . . 12 

Transparent enamel, . . 96, 99 

Tripoli, bar, 206 

" powdered, . . - - . 205 

Trouble in press department cause 

of, 238 

Tubbing, 260 

Tubbing machines, . . . . 207 

Tubing, gold plated, . . 23 

Turpentine, Venice, for soldering, 39 
" to make, . . 213 
Twist wire, to make, . . . . 27 



Twist wire pins, 
Two-color work, resists for. 



PAGE 

. 185 
. 59 



Vacuum cleaner, . . . . . . 141 

Variegated gold, . . 17 

Varnish on engraved ivory, . . 145 

Venice turpentine, for soldering, 39 

to make, . . 213 

Vermicelli or filigree work, . . 224 

Vise, swivel, . . . . 237 

Voltage used in plating, . . . . 261 

Voltmeter in electroplating, 49, 56 



W. 



Wash barrels. 
Washings, filtration of. 
Water colors. 
Wax for modeling. 
Wedding rings, 
Weighing for metal. 
White gold alloys, 
Whole pearl pins, . . 
Wire coiling. 

Wire-drawing and working. 
Wire, ingots for, 

" twist, 
Wohlwill process for refining gold, 131 
Workmen, theft among, . . . . 131 



125 
125 
3 
175 
161 
136 

13 

186 

9 

26 



27, 185 



Yellow ochre, 



39, 42, 46, 216, 218 



Zinc as alloy of silver, . . . . 71 
" in alloys and solders, (See 

"Alloys" and "Solders." 

" in castings, . . 30 
" for recovering gold and silver 

from cyanide solutions, . . 119 

" soldering fluid, . . . . 39 

" to silver plate, . . . . 79 

" volatility of, . . . . . . 71 



267 90 












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